2023 US Men's Single Sculler Finn Putnam won the Fall Speed Order, and we caught up with him after the racing.
His win at Mercer caps off a three month run where he finished 19th in the single at Worlds, 3rd at the Charles and 2nd in the Lotman Challenge Final at the Gold Cup.
row2k: How did the racing go for you this weekend?
Finn Putnam
Pieces went well, and it was a different kind of regatta, being a time trial and then final with no progression otherwise. There was definitely more on the line in the time trial and people couldn't really afford to hold back too much.
The water was a little a little dicey [for the time trial] because there was a pretty stiff crosswind, but I don't think that really changed my approach too much. The water was a lot better for the final, especially because they ran all the pieces earlier to beat the wind.
row2k: This was your first outright Speed Order win in the single, and of course you won the Trials this summer to make your first senior team. How do you feel about your progress in the single?
Finn Putnam
It's definitely moving in the right direction. I don't know, necessarily, that the single is the boat that I want to race, but I just want to keep making it as fast as I can. That way I'm bettering myself and becoming a better rower, so that whether I'm staying in the single, or if I'm pivoting to another boat, it won't matter. Getting better in the single also means I'm becoming a more versatile rower.
row2k: Looking ahead as we get into the Olympic year, and considering that, for the moment, none of the sculling boats are qualified for the US, how do you approach the path ahead?
Finn Putnam
Like with anything, there's some stuff I can control and then there's a whole lot of other things that are out of my hands. I have to hope for the best, and that continuing to get better in the single opens up some possibilities.
[That involves] getting on the water as much as possible come January down in Florida. I'm finishing up my law school classes right now up in Boston, and then I'll be doing my last semester remotely. That gives me the flexibility and opportunity to get as much rowing in as possible before both Trials and then the final qualifier and, hopefully, the Olympics.
So the plan is getting all the miles in that I can, and getting all the racing in that I can as well. This fall speed order was a good opportunity to go to that place where you're a little jittery and you have to sit with that and then do the full 2k. You have to take every opportunity you can to race other people.
row2k: In that sense, did you feel like the format of this fall's Speed Order was helpful, the 1900m time trial to straight 2k finals? In other years, it has featured longer races and even a stake race turn in 2021, so was lining up for 2k better?
Finn Putnam
I think so. Those other kind of setups are fun, too, but with the Olympic year, it's important to keep our sights on the race that matters, which is 2k. This fall, we've had enough of the other kinds of fun races. The Head of the Charles is a 5k, and then the Gold Cup was the 750-meter dash for cash. There's plenty of other opportunities to mix it up.
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