Meghan Musnicki retired after the Paris 2024 Olympics expecting to recalibrate her training. Instead, detailed testing uncovered elevated LDL cholesterol, high lipoprotein(a) and a genetic risk for cardiovascular disease.
The results have shaped the 43-year-old American’s transition beyond elite rowing. Musnicki, who works for the preventive-health company Biograph in membership development and partnerships, has changed her diet and exercise programme, and begun training for her first marathon.
Her rowing résumé made the results unexpected. Musnicki won Olympic gold in the US women’s eight at London 2012 and Rio 2016, raced at Tokyo 2020 and, at Paris, became the oldest American woman in Olympic rowing at age 41. The eight finished fifth in the final.
Her fitness did not eliminate her inherited cardiovascular risk.
Testing Changes the Plan
Musnicki joined Biograph after an introduction through a mutual connection. The company operates preventive-health clinics in New York and San Francisco, combining diagnostic testing with clinical guidance.
“The premise behind all of it is something that obviously really resonated with me given the commitment to living the best life you can live for as long as possible,” Musnicki told Sports Business Journal.
Testing through Biograph identified high levels of Lp(a), an inherited form of lipoprotein associated with cardiovascular risk. Musnicki had not previously been tested for it. Her father’s sudden death from a heart attack at 49, during her freshman year in college, gave the result added weight.
“You would think that I would be like a textbook picture of health,” she said. “And lo and behold, I have high [Lp(a)], a genetic predisposition to developing cardiovascular disease.”
The discovery challenged a familiar assumption about elite athletes: exceptional performance can coexist with health risks that routine training data does not detect. Musnicki had spent more than a decade monitoring workload, heart rate, recovery and boat speed, but those measures served Olympic performance rather than a broad assessment of long-term health.
“It just makes you pause because no one would look at me and be like, ‘Oh, she for sure has high cholesterol,’” she said. “I empower myself with the knowledge of like, okay, this is my reality. And now what choices am I going to make to address and deal with that?”
Lifestyle Changes Before Medication
Musnicki chose to try lifestyle interventions before considering a statin. A dietitian and an exercise physiologist helped her develop a plan aimed at reducing her LDL cholesterol and managing her wider risk profile.
She reported that her cholesterol fell by 30 points over six months, while her Lp(a) reading dropped by between 25 and 30 points. Lp(a) is largely determined by genetics, so its level and any treatment decisions require individual clinical interpretation.
“The value for me wasn’t just discovering that I had the issue,” Musnicki said. “It was having people that could interpret the information and give me tangible things to do to begin to move the needle. More data isn’t always better. It’s what you do with it.”
That distinction mirrors a change she witnessed during her international career. When Musnicki made her first US team in 2010, monitoring centred largely on heart rate and perceived exertion. By her final Olympiad, telemetry could analyse detailed elements of a crew’s movement and output.
Elite rowing still demanded a narrow objective: make the boat faster within the current selection cycle. Her new programme spreads its attention over a much longer horizon.
Strength, Sprints and Zone 2
Musnicki continues to train as an endurance athlete, but rowing-specific output no longer governs every session. Heavy lifting now helps her preserve muscle mass and bone density, while Zone 2 cardiovascular work maintains her aerobic base.
She has also introduced sprint sessions, jumping, plyometrics and more mobility work. Explosive training has become a priority after years in a sport built around repeated, controlled power.
“A lot of it is shifting away from more specific training, again, in thinking of that extraction and thinking more long-term,” she said. “As an aging woman, I really focus on making sure I’m doing heavy lifting to preserve my muscle mass and my bone density.”
Musnicki is also working on her mobility. She said she is trying to shorten the period in the morning when she feels like “the Tin Man”, a modest target compared with four Olympic campaigns but one tied directly to daily function.
A First Marathon After Four Olympics
Musnicki is preparing for her first marathon. She has bought a smartwatch to help her train but as yet has not determined the race or a target time.
Running offers a new structure after a career spent pursuing selection in the women’s eight. Musnicki first tried rowing at St. Lawrence University in 2001 after approaching the athletic department to enquire about basketball. She later transferred to Ithaca College, won NCAA Division III titles in 2004 and 2005, and made the US senior team on her fourth attempt in 2010.
She went on to win two Olympic titles and five world titles. The marathon starts from a different position: no seat race, no crew selection and no Olympic cycle, but a fresh endurance problem to solve with a body she now understands differently.
