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August 18, 2004 10:42 am

Salchow reaches rowing final

By ANN GREEN

Gannett News Service

SCHINIAS, Greece - Kelly Salchow is savoring every Olympic moment - down to the nanoseconds.

The two-time Olympian and her boatmates in women's quad sculls advanced to Sunday's final by a mere two-hundreths of a second.

Competing in a second-chance race Wednesday, the U.S. boat finished fourth behind Russia, Ukraine and reigning Olympic champion Australia. But it was enough to gain the final as the Americans edged out late-charging Denmark with a time of 6:25.39. The Danes' time was 6:25.41.

Across the finish line, exhausted after 2,000 meters, the U.S. women sat stunned in their boat, seemingly unsure if they'd made the final.

``It was too close for comfort. We were fighting it out the whole way. It was a close pack,'' Salchow said.

``Going into the sprint, we saw Denmark out of the corner of our eye. We barely held them off,'' she said.

Salchow, who announced plans to retire from rowing after the games, has mixed feelings about the prospect, especially after Wednesday's event.

``I feel like I'm a better rower now than I was in Sydney four years ago. I wonder in the back of my mind what it would be like four years from now. Every day you figure things out on the water. I don't know if I'd be retiring before my peak or right at it,'' she said.

``I know I'll always row. If I find I'm holding speed when I'm out there enjoying myself, maybe I'd do something on my own as a single, go to trials or something. But I'm definitely not going to plan on that. I have to start making money, grow up. I'm 30 years old. This has kept me immature,'' she said.

A graduate of Walnut Hills High and the University of Cincinnati, Salchow earned an MFA degree in graphic design at the Rhode Island School of Design in 2003. In mid-September, she'll join the faculty of the Kansas City Art Institute.

Salchow's boyfriend, Brett Wilkinson of Hyde Park, N.Y., is with her at the Olympics. Both have been competing at Schinias Olympic Rowing and Canoeing Center, about 25 miles from Athens near the Aegean Sea.

Wilkinson made the semifinal of the men's quadruple sculls and will race Thursday.

``We calm each other down and try not to talk about rowing very much,'' Salchow said. ``But it's nice to be with somebody who understands this side of my personality. We're both so passionate about rowing. It's hard to explain to people who haven't gone through it.''

Rowing apparently is rife with romance. One of Salchow's boatmates, Danika Holbrook, is married to fellow Olympic rower Ben Holbrook, who is competing in men's quad sculls.

The Holbrooks and Salchow trained at the Princeton (N.J.) Training Center, the primary training facility of U.S. rowing.

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