Gold medalist Esther Lofgren returns home a hero

What is true Olympic spirit?

Who better to ask than 2012 Olympic rowing gold medalist Esther Lofgren of Newport Beach?

Since Lofgren’s U.S. women’s eight captured the coveted gold at the London Summer Games and stood on the medal dock (there are no podiums in rowing) for the playing of the U.S. National Anthem, it has been a whirlwind tour for the former Newport Harbor High valedictorian scholar.

“I’m so excited to share this medal and my journey and hopefully inspire kids and adults to believe in the power of their dreams and aspirations,” Lofgren said. “When I looked down at my medal, all I could think of was all of the people that had supported me, mentored me, and inspired me in giving everything I had to achieve this with my team. So being able to share this with them, even if only in the tiniest way, to kids and adults in Orange County and around the country, that’s what the Olympic Spirit is, and it’s a wonderful thing.”

Lofgren, a Harvard graduate, missed making the women’s Olympic eight in 2008 by one spot, but she persevered and earned a seat this year, fulfilling a lifelong dream. The U.S. crew won the gold medal in London with a time of six minutes, 10.59 seconds along the 2,000-meter course at Dorney Lake. It was the boat’s second straight Olympic gold medal. This year’s Olympic champion crew was also honored as the U.S. Olympic Committee’s 2012 Team of the Year.

Lofgren, 27, who also attended Mariners Elementary School and Ensign Middle School in Newport Beach, has traded her oar for the podium these days.

Lofgren, one of three newcomers on the London gold-medal winning boat that hasn’t lost in six years, has visited children in Philadelphia, at Philadelphia City Rowing, Shriner Children’s Hospital, and the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. She has talked about her journey at the Community Roots Academy in Aliso Viejo and various elementary schools, including Mariners. She has also talked to members in the junior rowing programs at Newport Aquatic Center, her rowing alma mater and where her younger brother, Izaak, currently rows.

“It’s been awesome,” she said of her post-gold expedition. “It’s very exciting to get to share this medal with the great people in this awesome hometown of Newport Beach/Costa Mesa and in Orange County. So many kids have shared with me their love of the Olympics and Paralympics and their dreams of competing there someday, and right now I’m trying to go visit all of them and share this cool medal and the Olympic spirit with them.”

Lofgren has also talked to rowers in high school and college programs around the country, including Orange Coast College. She expects to visit CHOC Children’s Hospital on her next trip home. Prior to the London Games, she stayed with a host family in Princeton, N.J., where she trained.

Reach Richard Dunn at dunnwriter@yahoo.com