SEATTLE, Jan. 29, 2005 – Former University of Washington rower and 2004 Olympian Erik Miller of Renton was one of six rowers to qualify for the World Indoor Rowing Championships Saturday at Ergomania, the Northwest Indoor Rowing Championships. Over 300 rowers from colleges, high schools, rowing, health and fitness clubs and the public participated in the annual competition at the Center House on the Seattle Center campus.

Miller, 30, a spare on the 2004 U.S. Olympic Rowing Team and winner of eight world-level rowing medals as a U.S. National Team athlete, met the time standard for the World Indoor Championships Feb. 13 in Boston along with Onna Poeter, 18 of Colorado Springs, Col. who only took up the sport in September and Jennifer Cromwell and Kelly Amsler of Redmond’s Sammamish Rowing Association. Other qualifiers include Luanne Mills, the defending 60-69 age category world indoor champion and Robert Meenk, 43, of Seattle. The indoor rowers will now have the opportunity to accept an invitation to the Feb. 13 event in Boston.

The junior women’s singles was won in 7:15.9 by Poeter who is attending college in Tacoma. She was followed by Sammamish rowers Cromwell and Amsler. All three indoor rowers met the time standard for the Boston regatta. Sammamish rower Kari Stenbakken, a member of the 2004 U.S. Junior National Rowing Team finished fourth.

In the boys junior singles Everett Rowing Association’s Dave Goulet and Matthew Wheeler of the Oregon Association of Rowers finished in a dead-heat to share the event title with a time of 6:32.7. Gustaf Gordon finished 7.1 seconds behind followed by Bronson Shafer of Sammamish. The top 16 finishers in the event earned spots at Sunday’s identification camp for the 2005 U.S. Junior National Rowing Team - the first stage in the selection of the U.S. junior boys team that will compete this summer at the World Junior Championships in Brandenburg, Germany.

Full Press Release Below:

Press Release - George Pocock Rowing Foundation