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August 15, 2004 12:25 pm

Rower sparks record-setting effort

By Gannett News Service

SCHINIAS, Greece -- Dan Beery will be on a crew going for gold next Sunday after winning a heat and claiming a world best time of 5:19.85 in the men's eight at the Olympic Regatta.

Berry, 29, whose hometown is Oaktown, Ind., now lives and trains in Philadelphia. He graduated from the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, where he rowed on the Tennessee River.

He was recruited for the UTC rowing program while playing a game of pick-up basketball. ``I was messing around in the gym one day, and the rowing coach asked me to try out for rowing. Later on, he sent me to his former coach in Philadelphia. So it's a very small circle,'' Beery said.

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