Aug 2, 2008

Stanford rower gets shot at Olympic glory

David Banks, a Stanford grad headed to the Olympics, is not what the average person might expect in a world-class rower

By Sarah Frier / Daily News Correspondent

On the back of a high school basketball T-shirt that David Banks sometimes wore to his rowing practices at Stanford are three words: dedication, discipline and desire.

This year those three words have earned him a spot on the U.S. Olympic Rowing Team in the men's four, which Stanford coach Craig Amerkhanian says is the most competitive rowing event.

"I've had Olympians since 2000 that I've coached, and he's as tough as they come," Amerkhanian said.

And then there's that fourth D: diversity. Banks is black, in a sport routinely dominated by white Ivy-leaguers.

"I want to celebrate his ability to create inclusion in the sport of rowing," Amerkhanian said. "We just row. It's not about whether you're African-American or Armenian-American."

Amerkhanian said Banks, who graduated from Stanford in 2005, was instrumental in turning the team around. Before Banks arrived, the team ranked in the 20s nationally, and Banks helped bring them to the top five.

But Banks is modest.

"You try to fit in and do what people before you have done," he said. "I was fortunate enough to make a boat this year."

Banks walked onto the Stanford rowing team his freshman year after a friend in his dorm suggested it. In high school in Maryland, Banks was on the basketball and track teams.

Six Stanford rowers are headed to the Olympics this year - a record, Amkerhanian said.

Sophomore Elle Logan and incoming freshman Lindsay Meyer will compete on the U.S. women's teams, and Jamie Schroeder, who graduated in 2005, will compete in the men's eight.

Adam Kreek, who graduated in 2006, and Sabrina Kolker, who graduated in 2003, will compete on Canadian teams.

The crew of the boat Banks will row in his Olympic debut won a bronze medal at the World Cup in Lucerne, Switzerland, in early June.

Since graduation, Banks has spent his years at an Olympic selection camp in Princeton, N.J., practicing twice daily for the Olympics. The camp started with about 30 rowers, then was whittled down to the very best, Banks said.

The men's four event will start Aug. 9. There are 10 or 11 countries fast enough to get an Olympic medal, Banks said. In The Associated Press' predictions released Friday, the U.S. boat was not picked among the top three.

"We're trying to focus right now on getting better. It's going to come down to the last few strokes," Banks said.



E-mail Sarah Frier at sfrier@dailynewsgroup.com.