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Izabela Krakic is an NCAA National Champion. But the title she won with Texas in 2021 isn’t the one that means most to her. Instead, it’s the 2015 Croatian Singles National Championship.

“I came to the dock (after winning). My coach always gives me high fives, but that high five was so special. He hugged me, lifted me up, and he was so proud,” Krakic said.

Krakic, a stroke for Syracuse women’s rowing varsity 8, joined the Orange after transferring from Texas. Originally from Sveta Nedelja, Croatia, Krakic has competed on a national level in her home country, becoming a 2017 World and European Junior Champion.

Ivo and Zana, Krakic’s siblings, are both six years older than her and led the way for much of Krakic’s life. Seeing her older siblings compete made Krakic want to row, too. She started rowing when she was in elementary school and soon fell in love with it.

Krakic was undersized as a child and her coaches were concerned about her future in the sport, but they noticed her desire to win. She continued to develop her skills and eventually grew in stature, becoming one of the top youth rowers in Croatia.

During the 2015 singles championship race, Krakic stayed neck-and-neck with a rival who she had lost to multiple years in a row. With 500 meters to go, Krakic passed her opponent, crossing the line to win her first national championship.

“The little wins like that mean more than the big ones,” Krakic said. “I won a national championship later in the States, but I don’t think that feeling was as big as that national championship in Croatia.”

The win helped Krakic realize she had a future in international rowing.

At the 2017 World Juniors Championship, Krakic’s boat beat the Romanian boat by three seconds in the 4 — the biggest win of her career. Krakic’s crew consisted of herself, Bruna Milinovic, Josipa Jurkovic and Ivana Jurkovic.

Ivana remembered the plan Krakic laid out for her crew before the race. After every 500 meters, the crew would do 15 strokes for each person in the 4.

“That plan meant the world to us,” Ivana said. “It made us more confident in the race and we knew that if we didn’t do that every 500m we couldn’t get it back.”

Josipa also recalled Krakic’s competitiveness during the event. Krakic was so focused that she didn’t even want to know who her competition was, she said.

“It was only important to her that we be the best and that she completes the race at her best,” Josipa said.

When Krakic neared the end of her youth career, she once again found herself following in the footsteps of her older siblings. Both had decided to leave for the United States for collegiate rowing. Ivo rowed at Drexel and Zana competed at UCF.

“Something that really appealed to me when I was deciding to come to the States was to have a life outside of rowing,” Krakic said. “It’s fun to do both (career development and rowing) while I can. Coming to the States allowed me to do this. It opened the doors for me.”

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The decision meant that Krakic would be leaving everything she’s ever known behind. However, she knew that coming to the U.S. was her best option for accomplishing her career goals, which center on law and international relations.

Krakic joined the rowing program at Texas. As a redshirt freshman, she rowed out of the five-seat of the second varsity 8. The Longhorns won the Big 12 and National Championship in her first season.

“I didn’t join Texas because it was No. 1,” Krakic said. “I (liked) the process of getting from one point to another. At Syracuse, we have an amazing group of women and we are working really hard to do something that we’ve never done before.”

Alexa McAuliffe, who rowed alongside Krakic in the six-seat,said Krakic’s energy stood out the most on the water.

“We would have really great energy together,” McAuliffe said. “We would be in the middle of the race and I would hear her scream ‘Yeah Alexa!’ so I would scream back ‘Go Bella!’ to keep the energy going.”

At the NCAA Championships, Krakic’s boat finished third, contributing to the team’s collective point total that gave the Longhorns the victory.

Even with her success at Texas, Krakic felt she needed a change in order to advance her career goals and continue to enjoy rowing. Syracuse fit the bill. After the 2022 season, Krakic transferred to Syracuse, a decision based on multiple factors, including the coaching staff and the international background of the roster.

“There was something about Clare (Ochal) and Luke (McGee) that made me feel safe and really comfortable,” Krakic said. “I find myself often surrounding myself with international people. We share the same aspect of leaving our whole lives in one country and coming here.”

In the fall season, Krakic was the bow for the women’s two that finished first at the Princeton Chase. She also was the stroke for the varsity 8 that finished eighth at the head of Charles and fifth at the Princeton Chase.

“She’s been performing athletically in the top boat,” head coach Luke McGee said of Krakic. “She’s very good at going about her business. She’s been wonderful since day one.”

Published on March 19, 2023 at 10:12 pm

Contact Aiden at: [email protected] | @AidenStepansky