PORT TOWNSEND — When the 2004 Olympics start in Athens on Aug. 15, members of the Port Townsend Rowing Club hope to cheer on a local athlete.
And they’re putting their money where their mouth is.
“We think it’s a sure win,” said Ted Shoulberg, a member of the club.
David Friedericks, a 1995 Port Townsend High School graduate, is now in training for a berth on the U.S. Olympic Rowing Team.
Next Tuesday, the rowing club is holding a dinner in his honor, during which club members will present him with a check to help with training expenses.
“It’s pretty incredible to have people that interested in me,” Fredericks said. “It rejuvenated me in a way.”
A gold and silver medalist in last summer’s Pan American Games, Fredericks, 27, was one of the top eight men scullers selected for the Olympic Training Center in Chula Vista, Calif.
He’s been there since early November, getting two months’ room and board while getting in shape to compete for one of seven positions on the men’s Olympic rowing team for scullers.
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