We featured this double yesterday however after advancing in such dramatic fashion yet again, we thought you all might like to hear from them. The US women's double of Meghan O'Leary in bow and Ellen Tomek at stroke earned the right to race for an Olympic medal in today's semifinal. After finishing 0.05 ahead of last years world champion's New Zealand, the US women's 2x finished in 3rd and advanced to the final. Here is what they had to say after the race.
What had been the difference for you guys lately?
O'Leary: You know, the past year's been a little bit different training than we have done. I mean, all the ten plus years she's (Tomek) been training, five, six years I've been training, and we knew... we know that every part of the race is important, but we know especially in the women's double, with as fast as everyone is, especially a crew like New Zealand. Their last 1K, their last 750 is always their strongest. As soon as I started seeing them go, I just told her, I was like, it's got to be now.
Did you say that?
O'Leary: Yeah. I mean, not in so many words!
Tomek: Something like 'More now" around the 750, and I was like... Usually, we take a little bit of a bump, and we went from 34.5 to 38.5, and the way she said it, I knew we had to go.
Take me back to when you found yourself down at the beginning of the race.
O'Leary: Yeah. You know, we've been in that position before. It was funny. In the cooldown we were talking about everything that's happened over the past several days, we've had happen to us over the four years. We literally didn't have a stake boat holder at the start. To being sprinted through Varese, New Zealand snipped us at the line by 14 hundredths of a second, so we felt really prepared and nothing really rattled us.
We were actually getting wakes from Greece. They had that much, of a lead on us at one point in the race. To just be able to stay calm and to stay in the moment, stay in our boat, and kind of just chip away and work, work, work. I think it made a huge difference. We never let ourselves get rattled. We never let ourselves get down or taken out of the race. We knew that we had it in us.
Is it special to make it to the finals when you've kind of gotten there the hard way?
Tomek: Obviously it wasn't ideal to catch a crab in the heat and to have to go through the rep with the delays in the racing. But we have been training the last year a little differently. We've been doing back to back to back pieces, so we're ready to do back to back races in the rep, in the semi. Obviously, we had some things to work out. A few kinks and a new boat. The rep allowed us to do that and execute even better today in the semi. It's not ideal, but we definitely made the most out of it.
When did you figure out you were in 3rd?
O'Leary: New Zealand is known, for being able to nip people at the line, and I just looked at the screen. I saw Greece with the win and just this long pause. I'm just thinking, come on, come on. As soon as we saw USA go up next to number three it was, I mean, it was obviously better than winning the Olympic trials and I sort of lost it. This was the goal from day one, was to make the A final and to have a chance at the podium. I mean, what a better way than a nail-biting finish. That's how you want it to be.
Tomek: Every crew here is just such a phenomenal crew. Even Denmark got out in the reps and they were right in it as well. It's such a tight field. To go to the line like that with two-time world champions and world record holders on the erg… I'm just like... I don't know! It's really an honor to race with all those women. To be able to get ourselves into the top six was pretty emotional.
O'Leary: We know we've had it. It's just a matter of having that opportunity. I think we finally feel like we've put it together and now we've just looking to go out there and have a great final.
You said you worked on the start a lot to try and get in the race better. You did that today? Is there more speed to be gained there as well, when you need it for the final?
O'Leary: Yeah, we're definitely going to need a little more for the final. You know today, we feel like we really executed the first 250 and then that last 750. So, from the 250 to the 750, we've been saying for the last four years that, that's our weakest point and that's when people are getting the most on us. Working a little bit on our length, making sure we stay together, and making sure we stay with the rhythm of the boat.
Tomek: We were getting pushed around a little bit. There were some launch wakes out there. I think this side of the course was hitting that, so Greece was getting it too, New Zealand was getting it. So, being able to work through that bounce just a little bit better. We did feel like we have to steer a little bit more than we wanted to. We're in lane six again of the warmup cooldown side. We're going to get a little bounce, so being able to plow right through it and not let it send our boat one way or the other on Thursday will be important.
When you think about all the races over the years and being on both sides of it, what goes into winning a photo finish? What makes the difference?
Tomek: Honestly, I think we were at the catch and New Zealand was at the finish.
O'Leary: Or something like that. Either way we were at two different ends of the stroke. Our bow ball went across first. Honestly, we're usually on the other side of it, so to time it right this time, I think there's a little bit of luck involved.
What was your stroke rate down the stretch there?
O'Leary: 42.5 is the last I saw. High.
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