BHS grad Terry Kent: Olympic Kayaker

by ELISSA GILBERT Sports Editor Terry Kent, who graduated from BHS in 1981, went on to be a three- time Olympian in the sport of kayaking. According to Kent, there are relatively few top-level competitors in kayaking, despite the many people who enjoy kayaking on a recreational level. Kent said he first became interested in the sport at age 12 because of his friend, Bill Swift. "Bill's father wanted to get him into canoe racing," said Kent. "And he picked me as his partner." Kent explained that every fall and spring, he and Swift would practice and travel around New York State participating in various competitions. Each summer, however, Swift went away to summer camp, and Kent was left without a partner. "That's when I took up kayaking. I wanted to able to train during the summer so I could canoe with Bill in the fall. [Kayaking and canoeing] are very similar, so it wasn't hard to make the switch each year," explained Kent. In 1979, Kent participated in the Empire State Games in kayaking. He said he trained every day after school while at BHS. "I kayaked in the fall and spring and wrestled in the winter. It was what I liked to do and where my friends were, so I didn't mind training," Kent remembered. As a co-captain of the Barons' wrestling team during his senior year, Kent became the first BHS wrestler to go to the state competition, where he placed fourth. "I wrestled under coach Mark Hoyt," said Kent. "He was one of the best coaches I ever had. Some of the national coaches have more training and knowledge, but Coach Hoyt created a community among athletes. He gave us the tools to succeed. He had us competing for the right reasons. "Mark taught everybody to train hard and to go out there and do it. Never talk about how you are going to do in a meet, just do it. He taught us that competing was important, but behaving properly during competition was most important. I carried that with me all the way to the Olympics." After graduating, Kent began training in Lake Placid, New York, for the Olympic Games. He competed in the 1984, 1988, and 1992 Olympic games. Kent placed fourth, eight, and ninth respectively. "It was always my dream to be in the Olympics. Once I was started kayaking, I wanted to do well internationally. My win at the Pan-American Games, the World University Games, and a second place finish at the World Championships satisfied my desire to win," he explained. After the 1992 Olympic Games, Kent said he felt he needed a break from the sport. He is currently Marketing and Communications director for the U.S. Olympic Bobsled Team. "I would like to go back and coach. I needed a break, but now I'm ready to go back," Kent said. According to Kent, he thinks kayaking has the potential to increase its number of serious competitors. "It's like bike racing," he said. "They made the connection to every little kid with a bicycle the possibility of realizing an Olympic dream. A lot of people canoe and kayak for fun. We can make the same connection." Kent concluded, "if you work hard towards a goal, you can achieve it."

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