An Iowa state court judge has approved a settlement between the University of Iowa and a former member of the women’s rowing team, which calls for the school to pay $300,000 to a student athlete who alleged in a 2010 lawsuit that former coach Mandi Kowal’s training regimen left her with chronic exertional syndrome, which made it hard to walk and has required numerous surgeries.
The case had been scheduled to go to trial in September, but that date was cancelled after the parties negotiated a settlement through a mediator.
The $300,000 settlement, approved by Judge Paul Miller, comes in addition to the more than $60,000 that the school paid under an earlier agreement, which allowed Krusing to keep a full-ride scholarship after she quit the team and transferred to Marquette University.
University spokesman Tom Moore told the Associated Press that the funding will come out of the athletic department’s budget. “In this case, the UI not only did what it does for all injured student-athletes — provide excellent medical care, — it also provided the assistance necessary to allow Margaret to complete her education,” according to a university statement.
The university also noted that “the risk of injury is inherent in participation in intercollegiate athletics,” a statement that Krusing’s attorney, James Cook of Waterloo, took issue with.
