Charlotte Harris and Jessica Oliver managed to cross half the Pacific Ocean in a small rowboat, setting a new record for both male and female teams. If you ask them how they did it, they’ll likely give you a simple answer: “Pure friendship.”
Last week, the European duo finished the World’s Toughest Row, an annual competition with separate events in the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. In 2021, Harris and Oliver shocked the rowing community by not only winning the Atlantic race but setting a new record for women.
This year, they tackled the Pacific version, another grueling race requiring weeks of rowing to travel 2,800 miles from California to Hawaii. And they did it again. By completing the journey in 37 days, 11 hours, and 43 minutes, they broke the record for any two-person team, male or female.
Despite their previous win, Harris and Oliver (known as Team Wild Waves) knew they would face stiff competition in the 2024 World’s Toughest Row. They raced against eight other teams, including Liz Wardley — one of the most experienced sailors in the world.
But when Harris and Oliver finally arrived in Hawaii on July 15, they once again shattered expectations. The two best friends, with their huge personalities and constant laughter, are no longer underdogs.
They’ve now proven themselves one of the strongest rowing teams in the world.
“You see these two girls who love to party and laugh, but when they sit down in that boat, they turn it on,” said race director Carsten Heron Olsen. “You don’t have to look or act like a super athlete. If you have the right mindset, you can do something that seems completely impossible. They show everyone who has doubts about them.”
The Secret to Success: On Water and Off
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If Harris and Oliver decided to compete in a personality contest, they might win that, too.
In an interview with GearJunkie this week, the pair were affable and hilarious, excitedly talking over one another with an infectious energy. Even while telling stories of their toughest, scariest moments on the water, they speak with breathless enthusiasm. Perhaps that’s no surprise, given that Harris, a 33-year-old from England, and Oliver, a 32-year-old from Ireland, met in university and maintained a strong bond ever since.
They jokingly referred to years of drinking together in college as “endurance training” for their athletic exploits. Which isn’t to say that they don’t prepare for these races. Getting ready for the Pacific race involved so much physical training it amounted to a second full-time job. Some rowers even give up alcohol as part of their preparation — a step that Harris and Oliver deemed a tad too far.
“I mean, we tried to give up drinking for this, but we are who we are,” Oliver said.
Coming Back to Land
‘Anybody Can Do It’
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