PORTLAND, Ore. -- The Portland State University crew team rowing in the Willamette River early Tuesday morning was focused on training for the West Coast Championships coming up this weekend when they saw a woman in the dark waters beneath the Burnside Bridge, clinging to the east bank esplanade.

The three boats from the Portland State men's crew had delayed their training a bit Tuesday morning, but at 6 a.m. the river was still cold, dark and mostly empty. Rower Matt Kirtley saw the woman first.

"I looked to the left and I saw a face and an arm," Kirtley said.

They kicked into gear and rushed to save the unidentified woman's life. Fortunately, their coaches were riding alongside in a motorized boat.

"I just started screaming at James, 'There's a person in the river! A person in the river!' And I didn't stop screaming until he looked over and motored on out there," Kirtley said.

Coach James Rawson said he was surprised to see someone in the water.

"She was clinging to the Esplanade, on the concrete. Pretty much below the railing, just underneath the Burnside Bridge," Rawson said.

The three oar-powered boats and the crewmen in them stopped thinking like collegiate athletes and worried about the woman's safety. Their coaches steered their motorized launch toward the woman.

"She was very cold. She was holding on for dear life. I really don't know how much longer she would have been able to hold on. She was responsive, but barely. She wasn't saying anything," Rawson said.

As the crew watched, the coaches pulled her onto the launch.

"We put an emergency blanket around her and quickly rushed her over to the Hawthorne Fire Department," Rawson said.

Once the woman was safely in the hands of the fire bureau emergency medical technicians, the coaches rejoined their team by the Burnside Bridge.

"It didn't really hit me until after James came back and said she was hanging on, and the paramedic got her. Then it hit me. Wow!" Kirtley said.

The PSU crewman and coach said they were glad they happened to be in the right place at the right time to help the woman.

After the coaches delivered her to the fire station by the Hawthorne Bridge, the team went back on the river to finish their practice.

PSU Crew Team Rescues Woman From Water