Olympic medalists Lindsay Shoop and Dan Walsh were recently selected for the National Rowing Foundation Frank Shields Fellowship. Shoop was a member of the gold medal women’s eight, while Walsh won a bronze medal in the men’s eight at the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, China.

“It is an honor to be selected as the male Frank Shields fellow,” said Walsh, an eight-time U.S. national team member from Norwalk, Conn. “I was competing with my teammates who I know are all very qualified, intelligent, and determined people and I was fortunate enough to come out on top.”

The Frank Shields Fellowships were created in 2003 by the National Rowing Foundation, in honor of the late Frank Shields, a Penn oarsman and founder of Power Ten New York. Its purpose is to enlist two active national team rowers to assist the NRF staff in contacting current and alumni team members; developing and maintaining a data base for donors and potential contributors in addition to information; hosting the annual Head of the Charles Regatta U.S. team alumni reception and gatherings at major regattas throughout the country; creating newsletters, the annual report, and materials for fundraising, maintaining the NRF website, and developing as the National Rowing Hall of Fame at Mystic Seaport.

“The challenge is going to be locating new donors and new money in this slow economy, but I know Lindsay and I are up to it,” said Walsh. “I am sure we will be successful because when rowers want to accomplish something, they do. I look forward to working with NRF and helping with the challenges of raising money for the national team.”

“I think they’re going to be fantastic,” said NRF Executive Director Hart Perry. “The Fellowship has been an enormous help in strengthening the relationship between the NRF and the athletes. The whole operation has never been better; it’s been a wonderful year with everyone being in the same game at the same time. For the first time ever, we’re going to have a presence at the San Diego Crew Classic.”

Perry said the selection process was “a fairly long one” that included nine members of the 2008 Olympic team. Perry’s wife and assistant treasurer, Gil Perry, agreed that “it was a very tough decision and any of the applicants could have been chosen.”

“We picked Lindsay and Dan because they compliment one another,” said Gil Perry. “We felt that both of them are highly respected by their peers and seem to have a high regard for all athletes. Being senior members and having leadership roles on the national team was also a big factor. We felt that a major part of the internship is the relationship between the NRF and current and former athletes. Right away they’ve gone to work and gotten back to us on projects and ideas they want undertake.”

Shoop and Walsh replace former Shields fellows Ali Cox, a member of the 2004 Olympic team, and Anna Mickelson Cummins, a 2008 Olympic gold medalist in the women’s eight and current member of the NRF Board of Directors.

The National Rowing Foundation’s mission is to support athletes who pursue excellence in the sport of rowing with the primary goal of promoting the United States' participation in international rowing competitions, provide for the preservation of rowing history, and manage the Rowing Hall of Fame.

Today, the NRF maintains the Rowing Hall of Fame and manages the selection and induction of new athletes and coaches. The NRF also assists The Friends of Rowing History in collecting and preserving historic items from the sport of rowing in Mystic Seaport, Conn. Visit the NRF web site at www.natrowing.org.