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Friday, November 19, 2004
Rowers prepare to share the experience of a lifetime tonight
Copyright © 2004 Blethen Maine Newspapers Inc. | ||||||
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Also on this page: MEET THE OLYMPIANS | |||||
If the Portland High class of '97 held a fifth reunion, Wyatt Allen never heard about it. That's not surprising, given that his family no longer lives in Maine and he hunkers down in Princeton, N.J. Even so, his classmates might want to make sure they look him up the next time around. Perhaps he could bring his Olympic gold medal. Allen, a member of the victorious United States eight-man rowing shell this summer in Athens, returns to Maine today for the first time in three years. He and his fellow Olympian, J. Sloan DuRoss of South Portland, will be honored tonight at a fund-raising event at Harrison Middle School in Yarmouth. The rowers will talk about their Olympic experience, show pictures from Athens and take questions from the audience. "We'll have a couple of different boats there and some oars," DuRoss said, "so people can get a feel for our equipment." Money raised from the event will go through the National Rowing Foundation to cover training expenses for Allen and DuRoss. "Part of the problem with rowing is the fact that it's not as popular a sport as some of the other Olympic sports," said Allen, who works as a sales associate (home and garden) in the Home Depot Olympic job opportunity program. "It's tough to balance supporting yourself with a job while doing all the training you need to do, so support like this is really great." Allen, 25, said his life hasn't changed all that drastically after winning gold. "There's definitely been a lot of appearances to make and I've signed some autographs, which is pretty foreign to me," he said. "So in that sense it's changed, but on the whole it's pretty much the same." Allen and DuRoss, who trains in Boston, recently rowed a double scull in Princeton. Last month they attended the Head of the Charles in Boston, where Allen's eight did a "row-by" for the crowds and DuRoss placed fourth in the championship single race. DuRoss, 28, competed in the men's four in Athens. Both rowers hope to return to the Olympics in 2008 in Beijing. "It was an amazing experience, from qualifying to competing," DuRoss said. "I watched other competitions, met a lot of other athletes from the U.S. and other countries, and went to the closing ceremonies." Neither rower attended the opening ceremonies because they were due to compete the following day. Allen missed the closing ceremonies because, "I actually gave away most of my closing gear (apparel) to my family. I could have pulled it off, but to tell you the truth I was running on so little sleep. So I took a nap to rest up for one last night of celebration."
Staff Writer Glenn Jordan can be contacted at 791-6425 or at:
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