Jenny Sichel is a two-time World Champion silver medalist as the cox of the Paralympic mixed four (officially, the “LTAMix4+”). She focuses her coxing on the group of elite rowers that qualify as adaptive athletes. Her choice has taken her to international competitions and back. Now, she’s preparing for the try-outs for the Paralympic boat that will represent the United States in Rio de’Janeiro.

Rosemary Ostfeld is the coxswain of the Cambridge women’s crew that competed in The Boat Race on the Thames River this spring. Yes, that’s the one: the boat that was swamped while racing in the fastest–and most turbulent–part of the river, the Tideway. Her boat was trailing the Oxford boat; she chose to use the Tideway to help her crew gain an advantage. Risky? Maybe, but most choices we make to try to change something usually are.