“The U.S. Rowing Team of Four Just Won Its First Gold Medal Since 1960—and They Had Jason Kelce as Motivation (Exclusive)”

Liam Corrigan, Michael Grady, Justin Best and Nick Mead tell PEOPLE about how an iconic Kelce speech helped get them amped for their race

From one athlete at the top of his game, to another (four).

The U.S. men’s four rowing team just earned the country’s first gold medal in the event since 1960 at the Paris Olympics — and before racing, they turned to a speech from former Philadelphia Eagles center Jason Kelce for motivation.

Kelce delivered the very memorable (and very expletive-filled) address during the Eagles’ Super Bowl victory parade in 2018 from the steps of the Philadelphia Museum of Art. In part, he spoke about how the Eagles were considered “a bunch of underdogs.”

“You know what an underdog is? It’s a hungry dog,” Kelce said, later highlighting, “Bottom line is, we wanted it more. . . . Everybody wanted it more. And that’s why we’re up here today.”

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Justin Best, 26, tells PEOPLE that the athletes listened to the speech before their race on July 28, which earned them a spot in their Aug. 1 final.

“I was at the speech when it happened . . . I was right in front of the Art Museum and that resonated with me because that team was not supposed to win,” Best, who is from Pennsylvania, says. “Tom Brady was supposed to win with the big bad [New England] Patriots.”

Best notes that in Kelce’s speech, the now-retired football player “kind of went down a list of like, ‘This guy isn’t this, you know, they say he’s too small.”

Jason Kelce speaking during the Philadelphia Eagles Super Bowl victory parade on February 8, 2018.

Aaron P. Bernstein/Getty Images

The team — which also includes Liam Corrigan, Michael Grady and Nick Mead — was discussing their own doubters ahead of the Games. All four had narrowly missed the podium in their events during the Tokyo Games, which made them hungrier.

Says Best, “There’s some people out there that said, ‘Oh, New Zealand’s gonna win’ or ‘Great Britain’s gonna win’ or ‘Australia is gonna take the gold.’ We showed that speech kind of before the race. And we could see ourselves like: ‘Nick Mead, he’s too big,’ you know, like, ‘I’m too small’ or things like that. . . . We kind of resonated with that and said, ‘You know what, we’re gonna adopt that hungry dog mentality.’ ”

Corrigan, 26, was sure to note that he’s a Detroit Lions fan — not an Eagles acolyte — with a laugh. “Despite that, that really hyped me up,” Corrigan tells PEOPLE. “That was before our heat . . . after that, I just had a really positive energy. It carried us through.”

From left: Liam Corrigan, Michael Grady, Justin Best and Nick Mead.

Alex Davidson/Getty Images

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While the rowers are excited about their gold, it’s taken a lot of sacrifices to get here. Besides months away from their loved ones, they also cut alcohol out of their diets and generally prioritized healthy living and training.

Admits Best, “There were some days that I personally was like, ‘This is horrible. This is very difficult.’ But you know, that motivation, that extrinsic motivation from these three guys has helped me a ton.”

Grady, 27, echoes that sentiment while highlighting the importance of relying on his teammates to push through: “Sometimes you’re maybe like, faking the energy, the positivity, but eventually it just becomes real. To be able to keep the positive mindset and tell yourself like, ‘Let’s go.’ ”

They also had the steadfast support — and sacrifices — of their partners and loved ones to push them.

“I think all of us are in long-term relationships and training on the road across the United States and being in a relationship is not easy,” says Mead, 29. “The brunt of that burden is 𝐛𝐨𝐫𝐧e by not us, but our girlfriends and fiancées. We haven’t been home in eight months, and they have just been by our side that whole time. We owe so much to our parents and our spouses.”