EyeWorld is the official news magazine of the American Society of Cataract & Refractive Surgery.
Issue link: https://digital.eyeworld.org/i/119916
April 2013 EW IN OTHER NEWS 77 One-man sculler by Maxine Lipner EyeWorld Senior Contributing Writer competing crewman who had the same seat number as the young Dr. Boxer Wachler gave him his jersey— the first of many more to come. His final year in college, beginning in 1988, Dr. Boxer Wachler attended Edinburgh University in Scotland on a Rotary Scholarship. "I rowed on the crew team there because as a Rotary Scholar you are an 'ambassador of good will,'" he explained. "I recognized that one of the ways to meet people was to join a sports team because you instantly have things in common, even if you're from different countries and different cultures." During these days, he recalls racing on the Thames River in London multiple times and up and down Scotland and England. "At one point our college boat was the fastest in Scotland," he said. "We were even faster than the Scottish national team and were selected to represent Scotland at an international regatta in Ghent, Belgium." There, the young oarsman was elated to find that the team fared well against other national teams. "We came in fifth in the final," Dr. Boxer Wachler said. "Everybody was thrilled—here we were a college boat holding our own against these national crews from other countries." Dr. Boxer Wachler fondly recalls competing in the high-profile Henley Royal Regatta, with its rich 170plus-year history. "That was our boat's very last race for Edinburgh University," he said. The team made it all the way to the second to last day of the race—something he still views as a big accomplishment. continued on page 78 Dr. Boxer Wachler (right) on the medal stand at the 2011 masters nationals. Buoyed by success M any practitioners enjoy a day out on the water in a boat, but few likely do it the way Brian Boxer Wachler, MD, director, Boxer Wachler Vision Institute, Beverly Hills, Calif., does: his legs braced against the boat, his arms forcefully pulling the oars, his lungs burning over the 1,000-meter sprint as he races for the finish in his single scull. While he is relatively new to sculling, having just taken the sport up in the last couple of years, Dr. Boxer Wachler is no stranger to working an oar. He rowed competitively throughout his college career. "I remember vividly in the summer between high school and college getting a recruitment letter from the UCLA crew coach talking about how one of the UCLA oarsmen rowed in the Olympic team," Dr. Boxer Wachler said. Although he had been on the track team in high school, tackling the high and low hurdles, he knew he was not destined to continue this in college since his best high school times were not fast enough. So when the crew recruitment letter came, describing the type of athletes who were selected, he jumped at the chance. "It was really speaking to me," Dr. Boxer Wachler said. "I wanted to do collegiate athletics, not (just) the intramurals but actually be on the college team." Part of the crew He remembers at his first college race against the team from the University of California, Irvine nervously paddling up to the starting line. "Rowers are not supposed to look out of the boat. You're always supposed to stay focused, looking at the back of the guy's head in front of you," he said. To this day, Dr. Boxer Wachler recalls hearing the competing boat paddling up alongside and the coxswain talking to his oarsmen, as both boats approached the starting line. First-race butterflies in his stomach and his heart pounding, he heard the traditional French starting call of "Etes-vous prets?" ("Are you ready?"), followed by "Parte," and he was off, pulling with all his might. At the end of the sixor seven-minute, 2,000-meter race, he was elated to find his team was the victor. As was the tradition, the Dr. Boxer Wachler and his family celebrate his bronze medal. Dr. Boxer Wachler leaving the dock