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August 19, 2004 10:42 am

Rower Pat Todd and team knocked out in semifinals

By ANN GREEN

Gannett News Service

SCHINIAS, Greece -- Rower Pat Todd, a first-time Olympian, had dreams of making waves in Greece in 2004.

But the Cincinnati native will have to settle for a ripple in this year's lightweight men's four competition.

The crew of Todd, Steve Warner, Matt Smith and Paul Teti failed to advance out of the semifinals Thursday in the Olympic Regatta at Schinias Olympic Rowing and Canoeing Center near Athens.

The U.S. boat came in last with a time of 6:01.84 behind Italy, Australia, Canada, Austria and Serbia and Montenegro.

``We lost time every 500 meters it looked like,'' said Todd after the 2,000-meter race.

The top three finishers go into the final. Italy, the first boat across the finish line Thursday, is the favorite after winning gold at the World Cup in Lucerne, Switzerland, earlier this summer.

The U.S. boat will move into the race for places 7-12 in Saturday's B final.

While his focus has been on rowing for so long, with results including a seventh-place finish in the lightweight four at the World Cup in Lucerne, the 24-year-old Todd is facing some tough decisions about his future.

The St. Xavier High School grad earned a degree in biochemistry from Harvard in 2002. He has been living in Princeton, N.J., to prepare for the Olympics at the Princeton Training Center, the primary training facility of U.S. Rowing.

He said his resume since Harvard includes just one item outside of his rowing achievements: working in a Princeton store selling camping gear and mountain sports equipment.

``I'll take some time off after the Olympics, see if I want to go to graduate school or get a job,'' Todd said.

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