{"id":2796,"date":"2024-08-05T17:52:38","date_gmt":"2024-08-05T17:52:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usdailys.com\/?p=2796"},"modified":"2024-08-05T17:52:38","modified_gmt":"2024-08-05T17:52:38","slug":"the-u-s-mens-four-rowing-team-just-won-gold-for-the-first-time-since-1960-and-used-jason-kelce-for-motivation-exclusive","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/usdailys.com\/?p=2796","title":{"rendered":"The U.S. Men’s Four Rowing Team Just Won Gold for the First Time Since 1960 \u2014 and Used Jason Kelce for Motivation (Exclusive)"},"content":{"rendered":"

Liam Corrigan<\/a>,\u00a0Michael Grady<\/a>,\u00a0Justin Best<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Nick Mead<\/a>\u00a0tell PEOPLE about how an iconic\u00a0Kelce<\/a>\u00a0speech helped get them amped for their race<\/p>\n

From left: icholas Mead, Justin Best, Michael Grady and Liam Corrigan<\/p>\n

From one athlete at the top of his game, to another (four).<\/p>\n

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The U.S. men’s four rowing team just earned the country’s first gold medal in the event since 1960 at\u00a0the Paris Olympics<\/a>\u00a0\u2014 and before racing, they turned to a speech from former Philadelphia Eagles center\u00a0Jason Kelce<\/a>\u00a0for motivation.<\/p>\n

Kelce delivered the very memorable (and very expletive-filled) address during the Eagles’ Super Bowl victory parade in 2018 from the steps of the Philadelphia Museum of Art. In part, he spoke about how the Eagles were considered “a bunch of underdogs.”<\/p>\n

“You know what an underdog is? It\u2019s a hungry dog,” Kelce said, later highlighting, “Bottom line is, we wanted it more. . . . Everybody wanted it more. And that\u2019s why we\u2019re up here today.”<\/p>\n

Related:\u00a03-Time Olympic Medalist Gary Hall Sr. Says the Pool in Paris Is ‘Not Deep Enough’ to Set Records (Exclusive)<\/a><\/p>\n

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Justin Best, 26, tells PEOPLE that the athletes listened to the speech before their race on July 28, which earned them a spot in their Aug. 1 final.<\/p>\n

“I was at the speech when it happened . . . I was right in front of the Art Museum and that resonated with me because that team was not supposed to win,” Best, who is from Pennsylvania, says. “Tom Brady was supposed to win with the big bad [New England] Patriots.”<\/p>\n

Best notes that in Kelce’s speech, the now-retired football player “kind of went down a list of like, ‘This guy isn’t this, you know, they say he’s too small.”<\/p>\n

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Aaron P. Bernstein\/Getty Images<\/p>\n

Jason Kelce speaking during the Philadelphia Eagles Super Bowl victory parade on February 8, 2018<\/p>\n

The team \u2014 which also includes Liam Corrigan, Michael Grady and Nick Mead \u2014 was discussing their own doubters ahead of the Games. All four had narrowly missed the podium in their events during the Tokyo Games, which made them hungrier.<\/p>\n

Never miss a story \u2014 sign up for\u00a0PEOPLE’s free daily newsletter<\/a>\u00a0to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer\u200b\u200b, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.<\/p>\n

Says Best, “There’s some people out there that said, ‘Oh, New Zealand’s gonna win’ or ‘Great Britain’s gonna win’ or ‘Australia is gonna take the gold.’ We showed that speech kind of before the race. And we could see ourselves like: ‘Nick Mead, he’s too big,’ you know, like, ‘I’m too small’ or things like that. . . . We kind of resonated with that and said, ‘You know what, we’re gonna adopt that hungry dog mentality.’ ”<\/p>\n

Corrigan, 26, was sure to note that he’s a Detroit Lions fan \u2014 not an Eagles acolyte \u2014 with a laugh. “Despite that, that really hyped me up,” Corrigan tells PEOPLE. “That was before our heat . . . after that, I just had a really positive energy. It carried us through.”<\/p>\n

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Alex Davidson\/Getty Images<\/p>\n

From left: Liam Corrigan, Michael Grady, Justin Best and Nick Mead<\/p>\n

While the rowers are excited about their gold, it’s taken a lot of sacrifices to get here. Besides months away from their loved ones, they also cut alcohol out of their diets and generally prioritized healthy living and training.<\/p>\n

Admits Best, “There were some days that I personally was like, ‘This is horrible. This is very difficult.’ But you know, that motivation, that extrinsic motivation from these three guys has helped me a ton.”<\/p>\n

Grady, 27, echoes that sentiment while highlighting the importance of relying on his teammates to push through: “Sometimes you’re maybe like, faking the energy, the positivity, but eventually it just becomes real. To be able to keep the positive mindset and tell yourself like, ‘Let’s go.’ ”<\/p>\n

They also had the steadfast support \u2014 and sacrifices \u2014 of their partners and loved ones to push them.<\/p>\n

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@people<\/a> #NickMead<\/a> \u2014 who along with his team, just won #gold<\/a> \u2014 gave a special shout-out to the #Olympic<\/a> #Rowing<\/a> members\u2019 \u201cfianc\u00e9es and girlfriends.\u201d \ud83e\udd79\u2665\ufe0f #LongDistanceRelationship<\/a> #Paris2024<\/a> \u266c original sound – People Magazine<\/a><\/section>\n<\/blockquote>\n