Following their induction to the National Rowing Hall of Fame, their first time together since Athens, the 2004 USA Men's 8+ (Cox Pete Cipollone, Stroke Bryan Volpenhein, 7 Beau Hoopman, 6 Dan Beery, 5 Matt Deakin, 4 Joey Hansen, 3 Chris Ahrens, 2 Wyatt Allen, Bow Jason Read) has announced that they will begin training together again in an attempt to compete at the 2010 World Rowing Championships in Karapiro, New Zealand.
Speaking from an undisclosed location, coxswain Cipollone stated, "This came about when we were together in Connecticut and went for a quick swing row the morning before the induction. The row went really well, but no one really said much afterwards. Following the induction, we were all having some beers and Wyatt brought up that it was a shame that the Olympic line-up only got to race together twice ever. Seven of the guys are still in really good shape (Chip declined comment on who was out of shape, but did hold up four fingers) so we decided we would all take the next month off of work to see how are bodies would hold up to the training and whether we could still get the hull up and moving through the water like before."
It's only been two weeks since the crew has been back training. The eight has chosen to not the use the erg at all in their build up to trials, except on sliders. They are rowing the eight in the mornings and going out in pairs and fours in the afternoon. They are holding the workouts in private, but needless to say they are going well. So well in fact, Ahrens said, "we clocked a few 500s at sub 1:20 the other morning and we were keeping the rate somewhat controlled, at 27-28. I think there's still a lot of speed left to find."
Cipollone's response when asked if there's any chance the crew could race anyone prior to trials, "Right now we're planning on just focusing on ourselves but we've been talks with Washington about setting up a match race against Canada at Opening Day. We raced the Canadians there in '03 and it was one of the most intense racing experiences you could imagine. Over 100,000 people chanting USA for the length of the 2000 meters!" He also did not say if the lineup was open to challenges, although he noted there is a "pretty good sculler man of a certain age" who could arguably row either side of the boat who might get a look if any of the 2004 group cannot stay the course.
So what if this summer goes well and you guys win trials and race at Worlds? Read was quick to reply, "If we make the squad and race well at Karapiro, our focus will shift to gold in London. Some of these guys want the chance to have all their new babies on the podium."
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04/01/2010 6:17:54 PM