Sudduth's training began to pay off noticeably when he burst into the international rowing scene in 1981 when he unexpectedly captured a silver medal in the World Championships in Germany.

From there, it's been continued success.

The grueling U.S. Olympic team trials, in progress for the past year, included rowers from all over the country, many with more experience than Sudduth.

From a field of about 50 who attended a Florida training camp, 24 were invited to compete at Princeton, where the field was narrowed to 18.

Finally, two teams--a four and an eight man boat--were selected after five weeks of racing and training in Europe.

Sudduth, however, is only one of two college undergraduates to make the team and is the second youngest member (after Chris Penny of Princeton).

He says, however, that he was confident that he would make the team.

"It was more of a relief than a surprise. It was what I had planned to do," he says.

"Rowing isn't a sport with a lot of glory, but it's still a chance to be the best in the world at something," he says.

His making the Olympic team was not a big surprise to his family either, his father says. "I always kept an eye on him and knew how good his ergometer scores were."

But, he adds that while he rowed at Princeton during his college years, he never pushed his son in athletics.

"I've tried to maintain a good balance and keep it all in perspective," he says.

"It's a tremendous thing to have a son on the Olympic team," he adds.

Trials

While Sudduth is the only Harvard undergraduate or alumni to make the team thus far, there are several hopefuls still in the running.