Visiting Sculler Franck N’dri Competes for Olympic Berth

The GRP said goodbye to visiting sculler, Frank N’dri, this month. Franck hails from Abidjan, Ivory Coast in Africa. He had been with the GRP since June and has now returned to Abidjan in the lead-up to the African Rowing Championships - which serves as an olympic qualifier for the 2020 Games in Tokyo. As we prepare to root Franck on in his Olympic endeavor, we wanted to take a moment to tell his story.

Franck’s day-to-day activities in Craftsbury looked much like those of any other GRP athlete. Outside of practice sessions, you could find him helping with a number of projects and events around the center. When Franck is back in Abidjan, his schedule has a different shape to it. He is awake at 4am and headed to the boathouse for his on-water session with his coach Tim Turner. Franck finishes his morning session in time to grab some breakfast and start his commute to work. He works 8-hour days working construction at the Henri Konan Bedie bridge in Abidjan. When Franck finishes his shift, he heads back to the boathouse for his evening practice where he typically does a lift or an erg. Needless to say, Franck is no stranger to long days!

Outside of work and rowing, Franck enjoys spending time with his family. Franck explained that his family of four (Franck, his mother, sister, and younger brother) are very close because of the hardship they have faced together. They have lost two very important members of their family in the last 7 years. Franck’s father passed away in 2010 and his little brother passed as well in 2017. Franck says he is very close to his mother, brother and sister and that he loves them with all of his heart. When asked about what his family thinks of him training in America, Franck giggled and said “Oh yes, they are so very proud of me!”

Family has always been a big part of Franck’s life and it is how he found rowing. His late father was a competitive kayaker, so Franck decided to follow in his footsteps. He kayaked for a number of years, but in 2013 Franck’s coach suggested that he may be better suited for rowing. So Franck moved to the rowing side of the boathouse, where he met Tim Turner. Tim is a ex-Canadian National Team rower who works in Abidjan. He saw a lot of potential in Franck and suggested that he try a more “elite training schedule.” Tim told Franck that if he was willing to put in the work, he would help him get to the next level. 

Franck and Tim worked together for a year, and when it came time for Franck to prepare for this summer’s U23 World Championships, Tim reached out to GRP Head Coach, Steve Whelpley. Tim was looking for an American club with a competitive environment so that Franck could continue to grow during this important year. Steve was excited to take on Franck and quickly made moves to bring him into the GRP fold. Using some college-level French and a bit of Google Translate, Steve was able to communicate all things rowing. 

Franck raced a number of times during his summer campaign as a Cedar Leaf. He competed in Sarasota, FL at the U23 World Championships in the M1x event where placed 20th overall. He also traveled back to Africa in August to compete in the African Games in Rabat, MAR where he placed 4th in the M1x 1000m event.

After the African Games, Franck returned to Craftsbury for six final weeks of training before officially heading home to prepare for the African Rowing Championships. Racing takes place October 9-13th. We will be watching and rooting for our favorite African Cedar Leaf as he races for a chance to compete at the Olympics!