Rowers hit Green Lake

Bellevue's Rod Johnson won two national titles while rowing for the University of Washington from 1946-50.

That competitive spirit never left him.

That's one of the reasons the 78-year-old Johnson keeps competing in the sport. The other reason is to keep his health.

Johnson will be among the 1,400-plus entrants representing 109 rowing clubs around the nation starting today in the 2006 U.S. Rowing Masters National Championship Regatta on Green Lake.

The four-day event concludes on Sunday and is the first national championship in rowing conducted in the Seattle area since the 20th annual National Women's Rowing and College Women's National Championships took place on Green Lake in June 1985.

"The competitive thing with this event is no different than in college, because it never leaves you," said Johnson, a 1946 graduate of Roosevelt High School who helped the Huskies take national rowing titles in 1948 and '50. "If you win your race, you're jumping around afterward. It's the competitive spirit in this that I still enjoy."

Johnson's spirit hasn't slowed, but he has had to overcome three angioplasties and quadruple-bypass heart surgery about 10 years ago to keep competing.

"I think in my instance, I started this up at an older age because I had some health problems," Johnson said. "I'm doing it as much as anything as therapy, because of my heart trouble.

"My doctor said I needed to exercise about an hour each day. I asked, 'Is it OK if I row?' He said, 'That's fine.' I've kind of been going all out for four minutes with rowing. It's been good therapy."

The four-day national championship features rowers from ages 21 to 85, competing in 1,000-meter races for about 12 hours each of the four days.

Johnson has competed internationally as part of a team since taking up Masters rowing in 1992.

"I would say [rowing] has added years to my life," said Johnson, who will enter five races over the four days.

Johnson, like many other Seattleites, looks forward to the bigger competitions like the Masters National Championships each year.

"You see a lot of familiar faces," he said.