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Barger's Olympic Dream
posted on 01/06/2003
Everyone has a dream, one young man’s dream is to compete in the 2004 Olympic games in Athens, Greece. Ben Barger is an Eckerd College student whose passion is windsurfing. Barger began surfing at the age of eight with his father in St. Petersburg, FL.
Barger chose Eckerd College because of its location and its strong academics. Barger trains for three hours a day and is pursuing an international business degree.
Barger has been competing at the professional level for ten years, six of those at the Olympic class level. He is currently ranked 54th in the world and is the top ranked American. Barger is ranked second on the national team system. He has competed in over 128 National and International races and trained and raced in more than 20 different countries.
In the past 12 years the United States Olympic Windsurfing Team has won four medals at the games. According to Barger, the toughest competition for the U.S. Team will be China, Japan, Korea and the European countries. All government-funded nations compete very well in windsurfing.
Even though windsurfing appears to be an individual sport both the individual and the team must qualify for the Olympic games. The first qualifier for the Olympics was the World Championships in Thailand, the next qualifier will be held in Spain in 2003 and the final qualifies will be held in Turkey. The selection process for the best male and female windsurfer is the Olympic trials. These trials will be held November 2003 in Florida. The U.S. Olympic Team will take one man and one woman from this event to be a member of its team. The U.S. Olympic Team consists of five women and five men.
Barger states, “My mission is to serve as an athlete in Olympic windsurfing by working on principles centered around achieving a higher degree of success on and off the water. In doing this I promote growth and participation at the Olympic and at the grass roots level—where hard work and proper training is essential. In carrying out this mission I will continually strive to set a positive sporting image whether training, racing or encouraging others.”
Barger has started up a club at Eckerd College. It is called Ultra-fit. This club is geared towards promoting individual sports and fun. Barger is inspiring the Eckerd College community, “By having a goal and working towards it. A vision that seems big at first glance but very attainable if devoted enough to it.”
Barger hopes to be in Athens in 2004 surfing for the U.S. in winds up to 20 miles per hour. For more information on Ben Barger and his campaign for Athens 2004 go to www.sailboatspecs.com or contact him at USA976@hotmail.com.
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