1X
Single scull
One rower, two oars, nobody else to blame. Raced indoors this season on the ergometer over 500m.
1st Seoul, indoor 500m
4th Hanam, indoor 500m
4th Hanam, indoor 500m
Sculler · Seoul, Korea
Olivia Yoojin Lee
Nine races. Seven podiums. One season.
I took my first stroke in February 2026. I was on a podium in May.
First season 2026
2 gold · 4 silver · 1 bronze
1X · 2X · 4X+ · 8+
500m · 1000m
Move across the water
The whole sport
One stroke,
over and over.
Rowing is four movements. Catch, drive, finish, recovery. You do it about thirty times a minute. Do it well ten thousand times and you are fast. Do it badly ten thousand times and you are just tired. This page is built the same way, in four parts.
Catch
01 · Catch
Where the blade
goes in.
I am Olivia Yoojin Lee. I am sixteen, I live in Seoul, and I row out of Misari on the Han River. I started in February 2026 because a friend told me the boat was the hardest thing she had ever done. She was right. I have not stopped since.
Three months later I was sitting in a double at the Seoul Rowing Association championships. I came off the water with two golds.
I scull, so I pull both sides. I like the 500m because it is honest. Ninety seconds, nowhere to hide, and the clock does not care how you felt that morning.
- Born
- June 2010 · Seoul, Korea
- Club
- Rowing Pro · Hanam City Rowing Association
- Water
- Misari Regatta Course · Hanam
- Started
- February 2026 · first race May 2026
- Rows
- Sculls both sides · port in the eight
- Boats
- 1X · 2X · 4X+ · 8+
02 · Drive
The season,
in order.
Three regattas. Nine races. Every result exactly as it was recorded on my athlete certificate.
0:00.0
3Regattas
9Races
7Podiums
4Boat classes
My records
Every race I have started.
Nothing here is rounded and nothing is left out, including the two I did not medal in.
| Date | Event | Regatta | Distance | Result |
|---|
No races match that combination.
Indoor races are rowed on a Concept2 ergometer. 4X+ and 8+ carry a coxswain.
03 · Finish
Seven times
out of nine.
Two golds, four silvers, one bronze. The two races I did not medal in were both boats I had never sat in before that week. Pick a medal to see the race behind it.
04 · Recovery
The part
nobody watches.
Racing is about six minutes of my whole year. This is the rest of it. Take a stroke and the numbers come up.
2:20.0/500m
Ready
Press and hold the button to move the boat through one stroke and reveal the ergometer numbers below. Releasing early lets the boat slow down.
- 2000m erg
- 7:52.4
- 500m erg
- 1:47.9
- 5000m erg
- 20:41.0
- 6000m erg
- 25:12.0
0 to 5001:54.1
500 to 1k1:59.8
1k to 15002:01.3
1500 to 2k1:57.2
Mon
Tue
Wed
Thu
Fri
Sat
Sun
Eleven hours across six sessions in a normal week. Water when the course is open, ergometer and weights when it is not. Every piece is logged, and I will send the whole logbook to any coach who asks.
Footage
Racked on the wall.
Every boathouse hangs its blades on the wall when the boats come off the water. Four clips, nothing cut, nothing added. Take one down and press play.
The boats
What I have raced.
Sculling means two oars each. Sweep means one. A plus sign means somebody is steering. I have raced all four of these in one season.
2X
Double scull
Two rowers, four oars, no coxswain. My best boat, and the one that gave me my first gold on the water.
1st Seoul, 500m
2nd Hanam, 500m
2nd Hanam, 500m
4X+
Coxed quad
Four scullers and a coxswain. The boat I raced at every regatta this season, and the one that took me to Tangeumho.
2nd Seoul, 500m
2nd Hanam, 500m
2nd Chungju, 1000m
2nd Hanam, 500m
2nd Chungju, 1000m
8+
Coxed eight
Eight rowers with one oar each and a coxswain. The fastest boat on any course, and the loudest. I row port.
3rd Hanam, 500m
4th Chungju, 1000m
4th Chungju, 1000m
The season, seen
Misari, Tangeumho,
and a lot of early mornings.
What coaches ask
The fair questions.
One season is not much. What does that actually prove?
That I learn fast and I am not fragile. I sat in a boat for the first time in February and medalled in May, in three different boat classes, against crews who had been rowing for years. Ask me the same question after next season and the answer gets better.
Why 500m and not 2000m?
Korean junior domestic regattas are raced over 500m and 1000m, so that is what was on offer this year. I train the 2k on the ergometer every week and I raced 1000m twice at Tangeumho in July. Put me on a 2k course and I will race it.
Which side do you row, and can you switch?
I scull, so I pull both sides every session. In a sweep boat I row port, which is where I sat in the eight at Hanam and Chungju. I have trained starboard in practice and I am happy to be moved.
Have you raced internationally?
Not yet. Everything on this page happened in Korea in 2026, at Misari and at Tangeumho. That is the honest answer, and it is the first thing I want to change.
Can I see a full erg test, start to finish?
Yes. I keep every piece in a Concept2 logbook and I film my tests. Ask and I will send the logbook link, the unedited video of the piece, and the splits from the monitor. Same day.
Who did you race for, and can it be verified?
Rowing Pro, registered through the Hanam City Rowing Association. Every result on this page comes off the athlete career certificate the association issued on 24 August 2026, and they will confirm it directly if you contact them.
Get in touch
If you want to talk, I am easy to find.
Coaches, ask me for anything. Full erg history, unedited race video, my transcript, or twenty minutes on a call. I will send it the same day.
- Based
- Seoul, Korea
- Club
- Rowing Pro
- Water
- Misari Regatta Course
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