13 December 2022
By Göran R Buckhorn
News came from Yale last week that, after 13 years as the Craig W. Johnson ’68 Head Coach of Heavyweight Crew, Steve Gladstone will retire after the 2022-23 season.
After the Yale crews had won all three races at the annual Yale-Harvard Regatta on the Thames River in New London last June, Gladstone and his Bulldogs celebrated his 50th racing season. His career has then covered five schools: Princeton, Harvard, California (Berkeley), Brown and Yale. Gladstone has also previously served as the U.S. National Team coach and a U.S. Olympic Team selector.
Gladstone began his tenure at Yale in 2010.
“I consider it an honor and a privilege to work closely with Steve, a proven coaching legend and inspiring leader,” Vicky Chun, Director of Athletics at Yale, said in a press release. “He has brought Yale’s Heavyweight Crew program and every program under him to national and global success and has been instrumental in the growth of the sport. In his career, Steve has achieved more success than most could dream of having in a lifetime.”
Yale had a great 2022 season. For the first time the Bulldogs won the Ten Eyck Trophy for overall performance at the IRAs and beat the Crimson on the Thames by taking all three races and set a new upstream record time of 18:17.5.
During Gladstone’s coaching career his crews have won 14 Intercollegiate Rowing Association National Championships. He has received the U.S. Rowing Medal and earned several Coach of the Year honors from the IRA, Ivy League and the EARC.
Mike Gennaro, who is the Associate Head Coach at Yale, and who has been at Yale since 2016, will succeed Steve Gladstone upon his retirement in 2023.