From the Boat to the Launch

uncutvirginia

Oct 14

3 min read

By: Savannah Cogan

For nearly every competitive high school athlete, the dream is to compete at the Division I level. You are warned about the early mornings, grueling practices, demanding academics, and constant pressure, but you are also promised that it will all be worth it. The recognition, sense of accomplishment, and opportunity to see years of hard work finally pay off. I came to UVA to row and I was ready to embrace the challenges that came with it.

What I never imagined was that my college career would begin with more doctor's appointments than classes attended.

During my first year, I suffered a nerve injury that affected much more than just my ability to be an athlete. It affected my ability to be a student and live my everyday life. Later that year, I was diagnosed with Complex Regional Pain Syndrome. After trying multiple failed treatments, I was told that I was headed towards medical retirement.

I was not ready to hear that. In my mind, retiring meant giving up the reason I had come to UVA. I had worked for years to become a Division I athlete, and suddenly I was supposed to walk away from it. Part of me also felt like retiring meant I wasn't tough enough to keep going. I wasn’t ready to be done even when it felt like I was throwing everything at the wall and watching nothing stick.

After three procedures and countless hours of physical therapy, I finally started making progress. Twelve months after my injury, I was beginning to feel like an athlete again. Fourteen months after the initial injury, I was back in a boat. My comeback was anything but linear. I had been told that my nerve damage might never completely go away. While rowing, I continued spending hours in the training room just to keep my body functioning at the level I needed it to. Some days I felt strong and almost normal; other days the pain reminded me of how permanent my injury could be. The hardest part was not always the physical pain, but the mental toll of having to show up every day without knowing if I would have a flare.

Then, just days before returning to school for my third year, I was hospitalized with chest pain and weakness in my left arm. For nearly a month, doctors struggled to determine what was happening. I was told I have Thoracic Outlet Syndrome. My pain continued. Physical therapy, dry needling, and other treatments were no longer enough.

In the Spring of 2025, during my third year, I sat down with our head athletic trainer to discuss medical retirement. Choosing to step away from rowing was a moment I had spent years dreading, yet it brought me an overwhelming sense of relief.

It no longer felt like I was giving up, but rather choosing a better path forward.

I am grateful I was not ready to make that decision my first year. By continuing, I got to return to the water and compete on the ACC stage, which once seemed impossible. I am equally grateful that I eventually learned when it was time to put my body first.

Life after rowing looks different. Instead of sitting in the boat, I am now on the launch, giving back to my team as a photographer. I may no longer compete beside my teammates, but I am still part of the team that shaped me.