Eduardo Palomo wears many hats; the El Salvadorian is a FISA Representative for Latin America, a supporter of El Salvador's national rowing team, the head of El Salvador's Olympic Committee, and he's also a proud Texas A&M Aggie, who lamented that this year's Head of the Charles fell on the same date as the A&M – Alabama football game.
Palomo and his son Marco, who just turned 16, competed together in the Director's Parent/Child Doubles on Saturday at the 2015 HOCR, and row2k caught up with them after the racing.
row2k: (to Marco) What's it like rowing with your dad?
Marco Palomo: It's like a happy rollercoaster.
row2k: Is there any other kind of rollercoaster, rowing with him?
Marco: Oh yeah, there's the volcano rollercoaster, when everything goes all explosive.
row2k: Have you had that happen?
Marco: Oh yeah.
row2k: (to Eduardo) What's it like rowing with the youngster?
Eduardo Palomo: At first he didn't want to do it, at first he said 'No, I want to row with the team,' I think he felt embarrassed that he was rowing with me.
Marco: I wasn't embarrassed, I wanted to go in the eight they were going in.
Eduardo:Anyway, it was like pulling teeth trying to get him to go rowing with me. We would go out for long rows, 15-20km. We practiced for two months after the Pan Am Games, long rows on Saturdays and Sundays. My dad died when he was 57, and I'm approaching that age, so I thought I had to take advantage of this.
row2k: Will you do this again?
Marco: Yes. Probably not with my dad, but with another team.
Eduardo: And Father/Son Regatta?
Marco: Well, not in later years, because you're going to be old then.
(laughter)
row2k: What do you think of Head of the Charles?
Marco: I thought it was awesome, seeing all the boats. I've never seen more eights in my lifetime than today. Meeting new people, the coaches, all the athletes, how huge they are, how different it is from down there.
row2k: (to Eduardo) You know this scene a little bit more than Marco does. What's it like to come back to a regatta in the States with your son?
Eduardo: I have a really hard time going to something just for the heck of it, when I go to a regatta, it's something to prepare for, it's very important. I think this is different, this is the best rowing event in the world, and rowing with your child is something that every dad should try. We get to know each other in a whole different way, and you get to respect him and value him, but I hope it was fun for him!
row2k: Are you guys now officially the fastest Father/Son Double in El Salvador?
Marco: I think so. We're the only one! (laughter)
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