MOSES LAKE - In September, Moses Lake High School alum Madison Molitor competed for the United States in the 2025 World Rowing Championships in Shanghai, China. Madison called the experience surreal and an honor.
"I wasn't sure if I was going to make a boat for the summer," he said. "It was really incredible to not only make a boat, but also (earn a) medal and also be in contention for silver. I think rowing at the international level is always an honor. It's an honor to represent the United States."
Madison was the fifth rower on the men's eight team. They finished second in heat two with a time of 5:46.36, which advanced them to the finals. In the men's eight final A group, the USA finished third with a time of 5:29.93 and brought home the bronze.
As the fifth seat in the boat, Madison said his position is typically considered the engine room. He likes to think of that position as a conduit of the rhythm for the boat.
"You're allowing the stern half and the bow half of the boat to be in unison. It's very important to let it kind of flow through you as well as reinforce it, especially at a pace. Ideally, all eight rowers are doing the exact same thing at the exact same time," Madison said.
Madison's journey to the world stage is a unique pathway.
He was born in Seattle but grew up in Moses Lake. As a young athlete, he played hockey and swam. Once he reached high school, he turned all of his focus toward swimming. This focus paid off when he won a state championship in his senior year, 2015.
When it came time to make his decision to attend college, he chose the University of Washington. Like his dad, Mitch Molitor, he was intent on walking on to the rowing team.
"UW doesn't actually have a swim team, so that was part of the equation, and I was also pretty excited about not staring at the bottom of the pool and being able to see a bit more of nature while practicing," he said.
Mitch walked on to the Huskies rowing team in the late 80s. Madison learned of those experiences from his dad growing up and was exposed to that world from time to time, Mitch said.
"We showed him a little, but not a lot. We went and watched a couple races. He was very aware of it, but we didn't push (it). We kind of let the boys make their own path," Mitch said.
During his time at UW, Madison was successful in his newfound craft. From his sophomore year to his senior year, he made the second team All-Academic in the Pac-12, won multiple conference titles and was named All-Pac-12 for his senior season in 2018.
He was selected as a commodore, a role similar to a team captain. He said team chemistry was a huge aspect of his experience during his time at UW.
"I think you spend enough time suffering with a select group of people, and you get to know your teammates very well. It really is a special bond and special experience to share with a really close group of oarsmen and Huskies," Madison said.
After he graduated, Madison stepped away from rowing for nearly five years, he said. He drifted into cycling, where he competed in the 37th America's Cup in Barcelona, which is a professional sailor and cycler competition, he said. This involved living in Spain for a year before he returned to the Pacific Northwest in December 2024.
When he started to row casually out of the UW boat house with close friends, Madison said the fire for rowing was relit. He had always planned to come back to rowing but was unsure of the best route to take. However, as he got back in the boat, members from the men's four and eight who competed in the Paris Olympics were rowing with him.
"I was kind of plugged in with some of these guys. Seattle has a great rowing scene and culture, and I think getting back in the boat with those guys was a huge asset for me in terms of getting back in the loop and back in the system," Madison said.
With his background rowing for the U23 USA men's rowing team and competing in the America's Cup, he was invited to join the United States men's eight rowing team this year. Madison said he'd marked 2026 as his goal year for this competition, but was pleasantly surprised to receive the invitation this year, he said.
USA men's eight coach Brian De Regt said learning about Madison's journey through rowing was interesting. When he began training with the team in July, he worked with Madison to figure out the best approach to training with him. De Regt wanted to see what he could remind Madison of and what he could be taught at this point in his career.
"I loved working with him. He was very open to changing and very open to advice. It was just a pleasure to work with him, and again, learning from his experience outside of the sport, I think it's always so powerful, because he's going to know stuff that you don't know ... maybe it can help us a little bit to make the boats go fast," De Regt said.
Madison said he spent four weeks in Princeton, N.J., then six weeks in Chula Vista, Calif., preparing with the team. They worked in varying volumes of training to put together their best two-kilometer race in China.
As he looks ahead, Madison said he has his sights set on the 2028 Olympics hosted in Los Angeles. He still plans to take it one year at a time, though. Like his peers, anyone who competes in the world championship has hopes of reaching the world's biggest stage in sports.
"I thoroughly enjoyed this summer and enjoyed the process of it, and was very thankful and pleased with the results, and hope I continue to enjoy the process, and we'll see where that ends up," Madison said.