By Neil Schmidt
Enquirer staff writer

Four Greater Cincinnati natives were named Olympic rowers Wednesday, believed to be the largest rowing contingent the area has ever sent to the Games.

The three who represented the Tristate in 2000 - Bryan Volpenhein, Greg Ruckman and Kelly Salchow - will make return Olympic trips, and Pat Todd will make his Olympic debut.

"Cincinnati surprised me," Todd said of the multiple berths. "But there's a good rowing program there, especially at the junior levels."

Todd and Salchow began their rowing careers in high school with the Cincinnati Junior Rowing Club. Ruckman began rowing while at Harvard; Volpenhein began at Ohio State.

Ruckman actually earned his Olympic spot a month ago. The other three had to wait until U.S. Rowing set its lineup of boats Wednesday to learn they were Olympians.

"It's great," Salchow said.

"It doesn't lessen the excitement just because it's the second time around."

Volpenhein is as much a headliner as U.S. Rowing will have. It named the Kings High grad its 2002 male athlete of the year. Volpenhein, 27, again will row on the most prestigious boat, the men's eight, which he helped lead to world championships in 1998 and '99.

That success is what made his boat's fifth-place finish in the 2000 Games a disappointment.

But the U.S. eight is back as a strong medal contender. Volpenhein led the men's four to a surprising gold medal at the Lucerne World Cup last month in Lucerne, Switzerland, and that foursome has moved over into the eight.

Salchow, 30, again will be competing in the women's quadruple sculls, in which she finished fifth in Sydney.

The Walnut Hills and University of Cincinnati grad and her teammates appear medal contenders after claiming bronze in this event at the World Cup last month; they finished just 1.33 seconds behind winner Great Britain.

Salchow plans to retire after the Games.

"I think I'm ready to move on, so I'm trying to savor every day left," she said.

Ruckman, 30, teamed with Steve Tucker to win the men's lightweight double sculls in May at the Olympic Trials.

In that event, the United States had not earned automatic Olympic qualification at the 2003 World Championships, but the duo clinched that spot in June when they won the Olympic Qualification Regatta in Lucerne.

Ruckman and Tucker finished fourth at the World Cup later that month.

Ruckman, a Wyoming High grad, finished sixth in the 2000 Olympics in the lightweight four.

Todd, 24, will race in the lightweight four. The St. Xavier grad and his teammates took seventh in that event at the World Cup last month.

"I remember watching the (2000) Olympics on TV and having no idea I would ever be competing at this level," he said.

"... Now that I'm here, the thing for me is winning a medal. Making a team is just one step toward that goal."

Volpenhein, Salchow and Todd live in Princeton, N.J. Ruckman lives in Medford, Mass.

The four rowers bring the total of Greater Cincinnati Olympians to nine.

They join boxers Ron Siler and Rau'Shee Warren, soccer player Heather Mitts, synchronized swimmer Becky Jasontek and shooter Jason Parker. Also, Jason McKittrick will go to Athens as the alternate in archery competition.

A few more locals could join them as teams are named the next two weeks in swimming, track and field, and gymnastics.

E-mail nschmidt@enquirer.com