On October 17th, 2009 at the Head of the Charles Regatta in Boston, the National Rowing Foundation unveiled the names of 18 inductees into the Rowing Hall of Fame. On the weekend of March 20th and 21st, the induction ceremony will be held in their honor in Mystic Seaport, Connecticut.
On Saturday, a reception and celebration dinner will be held for the 18 inductees, guests and members of the sport (click here to reserve a seat). Following the ceremonies, there will be a rowing history forum on Sunday.
The inductees to be honored include the 2004 Athens Olympic gold medal men’s eight of Jason Read, Wyatt Allen, Chris Ahrens, Joseph Hansen, Matt Deakin, Dan Beery, Beau Hoopman, Bryan Volpenhein, coxswain Peter Cipollone and coach Mike Teti.
Individual honors include two-time Olympic medalist in the women’s pair Karen Rigsby, currently an assistant coach at University of Wisconsin. Her pair partner, Missy Ryan, will also be inducted into the hall of fame. The pair not only earned a silver medal at the 1996 Olympics and a bonze medal in the 2000 Olympics, but also earned a collection of gold medals at national and international events, including the 1996 and 1999 Lucerne World Cups and the 1996 and 1999 U.S. National Championships.
Three-time Olympian Anne Marden will also be entered into the Hall of Fame this March. Marden began her Olympic career in 1984 at the Los Angeles Games in the quadruple scull, taking home a silver medal. She continued in the 1988 Olympics, but instead in the single scull, and earned herself another silver medal. Four years later she represented the U.S. in the single scull event again, and earned a fourth place finish.
Along with Marden, UCLA’s head coach Amy Fuller also enters the Hall of Fame. Fuller’s rowing resume includes 11 years with the national team, collecting 12 gold medals, two silver and one bronze during that time. She also competed in the Olympics three times, including a silver medals in the women’s four without coxswain, and two top six finishes in the women’s eight. Fuller also was the 2,000 meter World Record holder in 2000 and 2001 and placed first at C.R.A.S.H-B.s in the open women’s event both years.
Tom Bohrer will also be honored for his 20 years of rowing and coaching. Bohrer is a two-time Olympic silver medalists, and three-time medalists at the World Championships. He continued his career through coaching, beginning at the high school level at Wayland-Weston, then to head coach at Union Boat Club, and currently acts as head men’s rowing coach at Boston University. Bohrer is also a certified strength and conditioning specialists and a certified personal trainer.
Andy Sudduth, who passed away at age 44 in 2006, joins the Hall of Fame as well. A Harvard graduate, Sudduth was on eight national and Olympic teams and earned medals four times at the World Rowing Championships. His name is legend at the Head of the Charles where he won the singles event five consecutive times. In 1984 at the Los Angeles Games, Sudduth earned a silver medal in the men’s eight. ``He was one of the best rowers in the United States and certainly one of the greatest Harvard oarsmen ever. He had quite an extraordinary record," Harvard men's rowing coach Harry Parker told the Boston Globe in 2006. ``He came to the sport with quite exceptional physical attributes. He was very, very powerful, had tremendous endurance, and also developed quite an exceptional skill at making boats go. You have to have all of those to succeed, and Andy did."
Famed single sculler Jim Deitz also will be inducted this March. Deitz began rowing in high school in 1964 and won every U.S. and Canadian national title in the single scull from 1964 to 1967 and won his first junior World Championship in 1967 in Ratzeburg, Germany. During his competitive years, Dietz won 45 U.S. and 37 Canadian national championship titles. He was a member of the national team for 17 years, including three Olympic entries. Dietz went on to coaching, and began the University of Massachusettes women’s rowing program, where he currently acts as head coach.
Mike Teti, who is also honored with the 2004 Athen’s Olympic gold medal eight, will be the first Hall of Fame inductee to be honored for his career as both a coach and as an athlete. As a rower, Teti was a 12 time national team member and three-time Olympian. In that time, he won 24 national titles and earned two medals at the World Championships. Teti began coaching with the national team in 1996, and went on to guide the men’s eight to nine World Championship medals, including four gold medals. In 2004, he led his crew to a world record breaking heat at the Athens Games and an eventual gold medal. In 2008, Teti received the USRowing Medal, the highest honor that the governing body can bestow.
Finally, Anita DeFrantz will be inducted into the Hall of Fame as a patron of the sport. In 1976, DeFrantz earned a bronze medal at the Olympics in the women’s eight as team captain. Her commitment to the sport continued through her work with the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and FISA.
By Liz Bernal
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