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The Fraker family vacation this year will be a little different than in past years.
Instead of a typical trip to the beach or the mountains, Tom Fraker will take his wife, Marsha, and two of his children, Davis and Addie, halfway around the world to Beijing, China for the Summer Olympic Games.
But this isn’t just a trip to see Olympic competition. It’s a chance for Tom and Marsha to cheer on their son, Benn, who is a member of the U.S. Whitewater Slalom National Team.
The 19-year-old who was born in Rome will be participating in his first Olympic experience in Beijing in August, and the Fraker family is looking forward to being there to support him.
“We’ve gotten some real breaks, and our whole family is going to be able to go and see him,” said Tom Fraker, a 1980 Berry College graduate who also taught at the Berry Academy. “We’ve had some help
U.S. Olympic Whitewater kayak team member Benn Fraker goes under a gate during a training session in McHenry, Md. The Associated Press |
financially, and even though we’ll go into a little bit of debt, we’ll all be able to be there.”
The Olympic experience is the crowning achievement in Benn’s short but successful whitewater slalom career. He will be competing for the United States in the one-man canoe slalom event.
That is a race that normally lasts 80 to 120 seconds on whitewater rapids, where competitors must maneuver their boats through about 20 gates on the water. It is similar to slalom skiing during the Winter Olympics.
It’s a sport that is still growing in popularity in the U.S., but one that Benn took to almost imme
Rome native Benn Fraker will take part in the Olympic games held in Beijing in August. |
diately once he started.
“When we lived in Rome, I had several friends including Jerry Jennings and Mike King who got me involved in kayaking,” said Tom, who also taught at Darlington School. “We went out on the rivers a lot, and I really enjoyed it.
“When he was about 9 years old, Benn started coming along, and he learned to kayak in my boat. Soon we got a boat that fit him, and he really enjoyed it. When he was about 11, we talked to a guy whose son raced in whitewater slalom events, and he said Benn should try it. He raced a kayak in his first race, but he soon switched over to canoes.”
Tom said the two boats look similar to the untrained eye, with the big differences being that a kayak rider sits with his legs in front of him while a canoe rider is on his knees. Also, a kayak racer uses a double-bladed paddle to control his boat.
“Benn very quickly showed a natural aptitude for this,” Tom said of his son, who was a member of the U.S. Junior National Team from age 15 to 17 and has been a U.S. Senior National Team member since he was 17. “He quit playing other sports, and this quickly became his ‘thing.’ Some people don’t find their gift at a young age and some people don’t fully commit to it, but Benn found his passion early and really committed himself to it from the beginning.”
Benn, who lives with his family in Peachtree City and graduated last year from McIntosh High School, took the past year off to train for the Olympic trials. His father said it was a long, difficult road to make the final Olympic team cut.
“It was a long process for him to qualify,” Tom said. “It started at the 2007 World Championships. That was the first in a series of races where you could score points to make the Olympic team.
“Benn went to the World Cup race in Germany the first week of July, and he did very well in that event. That earned him enough points to qualify for the team.”
Even though he discovered that he made the U.S. team several weeks ago, Benn has still maintained his concentration and preparation for the Beijing games.
“He’s had a unique perspective on (making the Olympic team),” Tom said. “He’s excited, but he didn’t think until recently about what a big deal it was. He went to an Olympic training camp in Maryland, and he called me and said he didn’t realize just how few people make it to the Olympics. He gained a real appreciation for it.
“He’s excited about it, but it’s not an overwhelming excitement,” Tom added. “He’s still focused on what he wants to do, and he’s ready to compete at the highest level.”
Benn, who has already competed in several world championship and world cup events, is in California this weekend for team processing before heading to China early next week.
He and the other kayak and canoe racers will spend some time training at the Shunyi Olympic Rowing-Canoeing Park, where their events will take place.
Benn will be able to take in the opening ceremonies and spend time in the Olympic Village before heading back to the park for his races on Aug. 11 and 12.
And when he puts his canoe out on the rapids for his chance at Olympic glory, the Fraker family will be nearby, cheering loudly.
“We’ll be able to be there a whole week,” Tom said of his family’s trip to Beijing. “We’ll stay a few days after his event to catch a few other competitions.
“It will be pretty special to have Benn compete in the Olympics, and it will be special for us to be there to see it.”
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