GETTING HER SHOT: Sara Hendershot, center, strokes the women’s open eight during her Princeton University rowing career. Hendershot, a 2010 Princeton alum, will be rowing on the U.S. women’s pair in the London Olympics along with Sarah Zalenka. The heats in the event start on July 28 with the final scheduled for August 1. (Photo Courtesy of Princeton Crew/Tom Nowak)

After helping the U.S. women’s four take gold last year at the 2011 World Rowing Championships in Bled, Slovenia, Sara Hendershot seemed to be on course for a shot at the Olympics.

“I had so much fun in Bled; I could not have asked for a better first worlds,” said Hendershot, a 2010 Princeton alum and former star rower and captain for the Tiger women’s open program.

“We raced well and won a gold. I came back on a high. It motivated me through the fall and the speed orders.”

But later that fall, Hendershot was knocked off track in her drive for the 2012 Olympics.

“I broke my rib after the speed order (a USRowing time trial event) around Thanksgiving,” said Hendershot.

“I spent a lot of the winter trying to recover from that. We went to San Diego in the winter; I was trying to get up to speed and feel strong again. We were there in January, February, and March. It took me most of January to feel 100 percent.”

Once Hendershot got up to full speed, she decided to take a different route to the Olympics, switching to the women’s pair, teaming up with Sarah Zalenka and earning a trip to London as the two won the U.S. trial in mid-June.

“We came together six weeks before the trial; I was rowing with a different partner and she went to quad camp,” recalled Hendershot, who had rowed with Zalenka on the gold medal four at the worlds.

“I approached Sarah and asked her if she wanted to go from quad camp to a pair. She agreed; it was a leap of faith on her part.”

The two knew they had to make a leap to earn their spot for London. “Going into the trials, we were very aware of the fact that we were not expected to win; we had been left behind for the world cup racing,” said Hendershot.

“We did three weeks of training on our own in Princeton. We really fine-tuned things. We could have been frustrated but we didn’t let that happen.”

Hendershot and Zalenka completed their underdog tale in style as they made it through the U.S. Trial this June at Mercer Lake, edging Amanda Polk and Jamie Redman in the finals to earn their trip to London.

“Our race plan was to go as hard as we could,” said Hendershot. “We were down halfway through. We thought this is our last shot, let’s go for it. We had a lot of desire. We started to come together and we smoothed it out.”

After the race, it took a while for things to soak in for Hendershot. “I felt this huge wave of relief; this was the first step that we had to take,” said Hendershot, whose boat clocked a time of 7:27.54 over the 2,000-meter course with Polk and Redman coming in at 7:30.98.

“It took a long time for it to set in. I had visualized winning so many times so when it actually happened I was thinking — is this for real?”

Making the Olympics fulfills a vision Hendershot has harbored since childhood.

“It is something I have always thought about,” said Hendershot, 24, a native of West Simsbury, Conn.

“I have always looked up to Olympic athletes, thinking it is incredible to take their sport so far. At points, it didn’t seem possible for me but once I found rowing and started performing well in college, I started to think this could happen.”

In the wake of the win at the trials, Hendershot and Zalenka have been looking to take things to the next level.

“We have to put in a lot of work, we are focusing on coming together and getting more fit,” added Hendershot.

“Once we are in London, we will do more race-specific stuff. We have big room for upswing. We have only been together for six weeks this spring even though we have been rowing on and off together for the last two years.”

As she reflects on the London competition, Hendershot acknowledges that the pair will be in the underdog role once again.

“We won’t be listed as one of the favorites,” said Hendershot, who will get into action on the Eton Dorney course near London on July 28 for heats with the final set for August 1.

“The goal has always been an Olympic medal and when we looked at the other world cup races and the times, we are right there. We need to keep putting in the work. It is a different level than we have ever rowed but we have to remain confident.”