Williamstown, MA -- The Berkshires and southwestern Vermont host a number of visitors who love to ski during this time of year, but how many of those athletes have gold medals from the Beijing Olympics? Mary Whipple and Lindsay Shoop earned gold at last summer’s games with the USA Women's Eight, and both are here for a week of cross country skiing on break from their normal routine in Princeton, NJ, where the primary USA Rowing training center is located.
Whipple and Shoop and nine other top female rowers are guests of Williams’ head women’s crew coach, and newly named U.S. Junior Women’s Coach, Justin Moore. The elite eleven athletes are here for the on-snow experience. Many of the younger women were members of last summer’s eight that won a gold at the Under 23 World Championships.
Moore had been thinking about putting together a cross training camp for the U.S. Women’s Team for a number of years. “We live in such a beautiful area and it’s an ideal place to train outdoors if you love snow sports,” he explains. After working with Women’s Olympic Rowing Coach Tom Terhaar, Moore was finally able to identify a time for interested members of the U.S. squads to come and train. Working with the Williams Athletic Department and Prospect Mountain in Woodford, VT, Moore put together a week’s worth of training opportunities for the visitors. In the mornings, they either row on the ergometers or lift weights, before heading to the College’s pool. Each afternoon, the group heads to Prospect Mountain (Woodford, VT) for an afternoon of skate skiing.
“We love how welcoming the Williamstown community has been,” said Whipple, a two-time Olympian who won a silver in Athens in the Women’s Eight before leading her crew to a gold in Beijing. Whipple also said the athletes appreciated the Williams facilities and the ease with which they could get around to their various workout locations. “We hope to hit the local establishments when we have a break and when we’re not so tired” she added.
Moore echoed Whipple’s thoughts saying, “This trip would not be possible without the generosity of the College and the members of the community. People donated housing, facilities, and personal skiing equipment to help make this experience possible. Many of these women would not have been able to afford to come to the Berkshires and train without such support.”
