Rowing twins are a source of pride for local family
By Ed Nadolski
Editor in Chief
People throughout the world watch the Olympics for the competition, pageantry and pride. But there are those among us who watch the games with a special connection that goes beyond the ordinary.
In the Burlington area, count the many members of the late Julian and Dottie Warren family as avid fans of the United States Men’s Eight rowing team.
That team just happens to include Grant and Ross James, twin sons of Cindy Warren-James and grandsons of Julian and Dottie Warren.
“It’s exhilarating,” Betsy Redmer said Tuesday on the eve of the team’s race in the Olympic final at Eton Dorney Rowing Center near London. She is Cindy James’ sister and aunt of Grant and Ross.
She was up at 4 a.m. Saturday to watch live coverage as the U.S. Men’s Eight won its preliminary heat and advanced directly to the final, and was up early again Wednesday to watch the team finish fourth – just out of the medals – in the final race.
Redmer, who lives in Waterford and works at Trendsetters salon in Burlington, said she and members of her family feel a special connection to the team and have even purchased U.S. Rowing Team T-shirts to show their pride.
“It’s pretty crazy,” she said. “We’ve all got the Olympic spirit.”
Cindy James is in London for the Olympics along with her brother Bruce Warren and his wife Sue – another area connection. They have been keeping family members back home abreast of all the news surrounding the rowing squad.
“You should see the emails that shoot back and forth,” Redmer said, noting that the competition has pulled the family together regardless of where its members now live.
You can count Kathy Baumeister – Cindy James’ cousin – among the family members fully invested in this Olympic Games.
“I don’t know if the rest of the people in Burlington care, but for us it’s really cool,” she said.
Baumeister – who operates a farm along with her husband, Darrell, just south of Burlington along Highway P – was a frequent summer host of the James twins.
“They spent most of the summers right here on the farm,” she said, noting that the 24-year-old Olympians are about the same age as her own sons.
The boys would play together for a week or two each summer and help out with the farm chores when needed.
But Baumeister was quick to point out, however, that neither she nor the farm visits had anything to do with the twins’ success.
“I’m not taking credit for anything,” she said.
According to Redmer, the credit belongs to Cindy James, who raised her sons in DeKalb, Ill., away from the allure of television and video games, and kept them focused on nature and exercise. She also pushed them into Scouting where both eventually obtained the rank of Eagle Scout.
Redmer said that upbringing helped the twins develop the discipline needed to thrive in the grueling sport of rowing.
“They’re just very focused,” she said.
After graduating from DeKalb High School, the 6-foot-5, 195-pound twins enrolled at the University of Wisconsin. The story, which has been told many times over, is that they were approached by UW rowing coach Chris Clark while standing in line at freshman orientation in 2005.
In what has become a time-honored tradition at UW, Clark targeted the twins because of their lanky bodies – which just happen to provide the perfect levers to operate the oars.
The twins showed up the next day at the team’s boathouse along with 130 other freshmen. And the rest, as they say, is history.
Grant and Ross not only made the team, but helped lead UW to a national championship in 2008.
After earning engineering degrees at Madison (Grant in mechanical engineering and Ross in biological engineering), they began training with the U.S. National Team in Chula Vista, Calif.
Like most athletes, the twins recognize the Olympics as a special competition that defines careers and creates legends.
“It’s my first time here at the Olympics,” Ross told the media in London. “It’s the biggest stage, so there are bigger expectations.”
Back here in Burlington, however, expectations take a back seat to family pride.
“So many people didn’t know about it, so we’ve been spreading the word,” Baumeister said. “Once you start talking about it everyone gets so interested.”
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