Quotes by Claire Gilbert

“I was in a world where I was a beginner at everything. Everyday things that Id been doing all of my life were all of a sudden things I was new at trying to do and I wasnt good at them, ... The gift of rowing, for me, was that was one thing in my life at that moment that I was competent at.”

“She came to my house one day and said, Im taking you rowing. You dont need to see to row. Lets just go and do this,”

“They were like, Why was a double on the race course? and we said, Were blind,”

“They said, Really? And you beat us? So that was really gratifying.”

“A lot of people get around with canes and dogs, ... Ive always been a dog lover, and to pick between an inanimate object like a cane and a dog, there was no question in my mind.”

“They gave her a leash and a trained animal, ... and she ran with it.”

“I saw rowing in the Olympics and I said, I want to do that. Thats my sport, ... I had always been a swimmer, but when I saw rowing, I said, Thats it.”

“That was the most down period in my life, ... I was afraid of everything. I didnt think I could do anything anymore, and I basically just stayed at home. Literally, I woke up one day and thought, OK, whats my life going to be like 5, 10, 30 years out from now, if I keep doing this? And I thought, Oh my God, Im going to have a long, boring life. Ive got to do something to change this.”

“It was like traveling with a rock star, ... When I see her stand up to talk in front of hundreds of people and see the self-assurance she has, É its hard not to be proud of her.”

“For me and for John, it really kind of opened the minds of people from all over world to open their boathouses to people who are blind, ... Ive gained so much (from rowing), Id love to see people all over the world get the same pleasure and opportunity I had.”