By MIKE LOWE

Staff Writer

It must be something in the water, or maybe the cold winters.

But Maine will be well-represented on the U.S. Olympic rowing team that competes in the Beijing Summer Olympics in August.

Wyatt Allen of Portland will be a member of the men's Eight crew, and Anna Goodale of Camden and Elle Logan of Boothbay Harbor will row on the women's Eight crew.

It will be Allen's second Olympic appearance -- the 29-year-old Portland High graduate won a gold medal in the Eights in the 2004 Games in Athens -- while Goodale, 25, and Logan, 20, will be making their first Olympic appearances.

Their selections, made Tuesday but not announced officially by U.S.A. Rowing until Friday, were met with a mix of excitement and relief.

"I've had a good couple of days, I'm not going to lie," said Goodale, who played on Camden-Rockport High's 2000 Class B state champion girls' basketball team.

"We've trained so long for essentially the Olympics. You have small goals along the way, but the big challenge is the Olympics. You put it out of your mind until this year.

"And then to have actually made it and think that I'm going to the Olympics. It's so huge it hasn't really sunk in yet. It might take a little while for me to say, 'OK, I'm really going.'"

Logan, who has been rowing for only five years, said it's a relief to know she's going to China.

"It's been kind of a whirlwind, and I'm trying to take it all in," she said.

"It nice to have the team finally picked. But it's also hard because we train as a group all year long, good and bad at the same time, and then some get cut. We're like a family and they're now not here. But it's a relief because now we can get down to business, try to finalize more things and get even more speed."

The women's Eight crew is the two-time defending world champion. The team finished second to Romania in the 2004 Olympics.

Tim Terhaar, the coach of the women's team, said he wasn't concerned by Goodale's and Logan's lack of Olympic experience.

He said both have proven their value in the last year, and especially in the last couple of months leading up to their selection.

"I think they're very well-grounded people. They keep things in perspective," he said. "The past, anywhere from two to four years, I've been watching them under a lot of stress, including the past two weeks, and how they handle it. That's as good as any an indication how they will do in any situation in the Olympics.

"It's the same as it was four years ago. We had a couple of experienced rowers, but we were primarily young and new to the Olympics. If this were an individual sport I'd worry about it more. But on a team sport, if the attitude is good and right, everyone helps everyone out."

Terhaar said it might not be coincidence that Maine has produced such prolific rowers, or that all of them have similar characteristics.

"I think it's good parenting and a not-necessarily easy lifestyle, growing up with nice cold winters," he said. "They keep people grounded. And they're all hard workers."

Allen is grateful for this second chance at Olympic gold.

He had said earlier this year that this would probably be his last year of rowing competitively, and he wasn't sure whether he would make the team.

"It was, and maybe I'm remembering it differently, but it felt tougher this time," he said. "I guess the last time was this way too but I feel lucky and happy to have this opportunity. It is satisfying to make it through a very tough selection of guys I admire much and have so much fun with.

"It was a tough selection, watching friends I've had the last eight years, some do well, some not make it. It's definitely been an emotional roller coaster the last few weeks."

Allen said he felt the selection came down to the final few days.

"You always want to believe you're going to make it. But I think if you don't recognize that maybe you won't make it you have to recognize the possibility and you are on the edge, and that's what keeps you going in some sense, keeps your work ethic."

Mike Teti, the men's head coach, said Allen's spot was never really in doubt.

Beyond having the experience that is needed in an event of this magnitude, he considers Allen a valuable member of the crew.

"He's a top-notch guy," Teti said. "He's a veteran, he's won before, he's a hard worker, a great team guy. And I think he adds confidence to the crew."

Teti said Allen's previous Olympic experience will be vital in Beijing.

"The thing about the Olympics, they come once every four years, they're a long way away, going to Beijing, and you need guys who are resilient," Teti said.

"He's probably among the most resilient of guys we have. He's a fighter.

"And it makes a difference that he's gone through the process before. He understands it's not just the world championships, it's the Olympics, and everything is ramped up a bit."

Staff Writer Mike Lowe can be contacted at 791-6422 or at:

mlowe@pressherald.com