WESTLAKE, Ohio -- Margot Shumway is trying to win a race, and an Olympic gold medal.
Julia Shumway is trying to win a battle, and save her life.
As Margot and her mother head to the London Olympics later this month — Margot to row and Julia, hopefully, to cheer — the Westlake women are drawing considerable strength from each other.
Margot, rowing double sculls with partner Sarah Trowbridge, will be competing in her second consecutive Olympics, which is no small feat for someone who never sat in a racing scull until her senior year at Ohio State. A scull is a long, narrow boat on which each rower has two oars.
In just the past year, Margot has shown remarkable perseverance. She was cut from the national team, rebounded to win a Pan Am Games single-scull gold medal, failed to make the Olympic team with Trowbridge at the U.S. trials in April, and finally made the Games a month later when a berth opened up and they won a last-chance qualifying race in Switzerland.
Olympian Margot Shumway and Mom's battle with Lung Cancer
