There was a time, not that long ago, when nearly all kids in America who played sports dreamed of competing in the Olympics. There was no bigger honor in sport than to representing your country.
Things have changed dramatically with the explosion of professional sports in the States, but Olympic events such as track and field, swimming and rowing are still at the top of the mountain in terms of prestige. Rowing is one of the earliest known sports in history and oldest collegiate sport, so the Summer Olympics is the competitors' time to shine in the national spotlight.
On the local level, Manchester native Elliot Hovey is traveling to Beijing for his first Olympics on Friday, with a very real chance of earning a medal in the heavyweight doubles races with partner Wes Piermarini of West Brookfield. The heats for their event begin on August 9, the finals are August 16 and August 17.
When reached by phone last week at the U.S. National Rowing Training Center in Princeton, N.J., the 25-year-old Hovey was busy with last-minute preparations.
"We're working out three times a day, getting our last bit of work in before the games," Hovey said. "The training is mostly on the water and the weather has been hot and humid which is good because that's what it will be like in China."
Hovey and Piermarini both sharpen their trade as members of the California Rowing Club, a training center for elite-level rowers located in Oakland, Calif. The rowing club works with other rowing organizations, including USRowing and the U.S. National Rowing team.
Originally single sculls rowers, the duo was paired up by fellow club member Tim McLaren, a veteran of the Australian Olympics. Their similar size and shape made them the perfect match for double sculls.
If it's possible to be on a hot-streak in rowing, Hovey and Piermarini are in that realm. They won the Men's Heavyweight Doubles Olympic trial event in Princeton on June 12, thus qualifying them for Beijing.
"This is an exciting win for Elliot Hovey and Wes Piermarini," said Rich Hallock, executive director of the rowing club. "They have worked very hard to gain the speed and accuracy required to compete for a spot on the U.S. National Team."
On July 6, they took home the championship in the Double Sculls Challenge Cup from the prestigious Henley Royal Regatta in Henley-on-Thames, England.
It hasn't taken Hovey long to rise to the highest stage of rowing. Hovey started participating in the sport in high school when he attended The Salisbury School in Connecticut.
"I was drawn to it because it was different," Hovey said. "I liked the idea of being out on the water rather than being on a playing field. I believe that the basic philosophy of rowing 'those who pull the hardest, longest, win the race' is a good pace-setter for life."
His interest really blossomed in college when he went to the University of California at Berkeley. Hovey's four years as a member of the Golden Bears' varsity eight were capped off in 2006 with two titles his senior year: a Pac-10 Championship and an International Rowing Association Championship.
While the ascension has appeared so fast to an outsider, Hovey has had a blueprint of his rowing career since he began.
"In the back of my mind, even in high school, I always thought I had a shot at the Olympics," Hovey said. "It became reality fairly recently after I kept working at it."
A resident of Alameda, a suburb of San Francisco, Hovey has been living in California for seven years now — including college — but he said he will always hold New England dearly in his heart. His parents still live in Manchester.
"The California weather is nice but I still miss New England and Manchester. You can take the guy out of New England, but you can't take the New England out of the guy."
Richard Slate is a staff writer for The Gloucester Daily Times. He can be reached at rslate@gloucestertimes.com.
