St. John's alum prepares for Olympic gold medal race
by Jim Maurice, WJON.com

BEIJING, CHINA -- A graduate of St. John's University will be going for a gold medal at the Olympics this Sunday.

WJON news had a chance to talk with Matt Schnobrich this (Friday) morning, as he gets ready for the race of his life.

He says it's been an unbelievable experience.

Schnobrich is part of the eight-man rowing team. They will compete against five other teams on Sunday.

The U.S. is the defending Olympic champion.

He says it was at St. John's where he was first introduced to the sport of rowing.   Scnobrich says his college team usually finished last in their races -- a far cry from the gold medal he'll be rowing for this Sunday.

Schnobrich says he couldn't go to the opening ceremonies, because he had a race early the next morning. He says he has 14 friends and family members with him, and he plans to stay in Beijing next week and enjoy the rest of the games.

Schnobrich graduated from St. John's in 2001.

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AUDIO:  WJON.com's Jim Maurice talks with Matt Schnobrich from China about his Olympic experience.