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                                                                    EXHIBIT 31.1

                     CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER CERTIFICATION

CERTIFICATION

     I, TIMOTHY G. RUPERT, certify that:

     1. I have reviewed this quarterly report on Form 10-Q of RTI International
        Metals, Inc.;

     2. Based on my knowledge, this report does not contain any untrue statement
        of a material fact or omit to state a material fact necessary to make
        the statements made, in light of the circumstances under which such
        statements were made, not misleading with respect to the period covered
        by this report;

     3. Based on my knowledge, the financial statements, and other financial
        information included in this report, fairly present in all material
        respects the financial condition, results of operations and cash flows
        of the registrant as of, and for, the periods presented in this report;

     4. The registrant's other certifying officer(s) and I are responsible for
        establishing and maintaining disclosure controls and procedures as
        defined in Exchange Act Rules 13a-15(e) and 15d-15(e) for the registrant
        and have:

       (a) Designed such disclosure controls and procedures, or caused such
       disclosure controls and procedures to be designed under our supervision,
       to ensure that material information relating to the registrant, including
       its consolidated subsidiaries, is made known to us by others within those
       entities, particularly during the period in which this report is being
       prepared;

       (b) Evaluated the effectiveness of the registrant's disclosure controls
       and procedures and presented in this report our conclusions about the
       effectiveness of the disclosure controls and procedures, as of the end of
       the period covered by this report based on such evaluation; and

       (c) Disclosed in this report any change in the registrant's internal
       control over financial reporting that occurred during the registrant's
       most recent fiscal quarter that has materially affected, or is reasonably
       likely to materially affect, the registrant's internal control over
       financial reporting; and

     5. The registrant's other certifying officer(s) and I have disclosed, based
        on our most recent evaluation of internal control over financial
        reporting, to the registrant's auditors and the audit committee of the
        registrant's board of directors (or persons performing the equivalent
        functions):

       (a) All significant deficiencies and material weaknesses in the design or
       operation of internal control over financial reporting which are
       reasonably likely to adversely affect the registrant's ability to record,
       process, summarize and report financial information; and

       (b) Any fraud, whether or not material, that involves management or other
       employees who have a significant role in the registrant's internal
       control over financial reporting.

Date: August 13, 2003

                                                  /s/ TIMOTHY G. RUPERT
                                          --------------------------------------
                                                    Timothy G. Rupert
                                          President and Chief Executive Officer