New world record holders
Chris Wilson, coach of the US women's quad
How did the crew think of the race?
The quad thought that it was a really solid first race. I think that the first race at any regatta is a tough one, so for them to have overlap with the Germans at the finish line was a good place to start.
Do you think there is any downside to rowing through the rep?
No, not for us, absolutely not, not for us. Every time we've raced more at a regatta, it has helped us. It helps everyone relax, it helped us work out things that we'll need to execute in the final. So no, they're very excited about racing again.
Mike Teti, coach of the men's eight
A couple years ago you said you talked before the Worlds about a new world record, and thought maybe that was a distraction. Did you talk about this at all today?
No, not at all. We knew we had a really hard race. The Canadians are the world champions, and they are a great crew. The Italians pushed the eight we had in Lucerne, so we knew it was going to be a hard race. I think the whole goal is to try to get ahead of the other crew, not really a world record. And I knew we would have a really hard time doing it, and we did have a really hard time doing it.
Coming to the finish, did you think your crew could get through?
It was close, and once those crews kind of separated (from the field), Canada and us, I just thought, well, one of these two crews is going to win. And probably you could race this a hundred times and flip-flop a hundred times. They're (the Canadian eight) a great boat, and our guys are pretty good too. They're all spirited guys in both crews, and they're going to go really hard. And Australia looked like they're as good as well, the Dutch aren't far behind, and I never count the Germans out, so we know we have hard competition.
Are you happy not to be in the rep?
Yes. I'm mostly happy not to be in the rep because you don't know what the conditions are going to be like. You would really hate to row a rep on a day where there are really bad conditions, because you don't know what is going to happen, so it is nice to avoid it.
---
Beau Hoopman, seven seat, US men's eight
Were you concerned about drawing the Canadians, or were you happy to meet them early?
I was happy to meet them early. We haven't raced - this is the first race we've had together as a crew - so you want to gauge it against the best crew in the world, that way you know where you stand.
---
Pete Cipollone, coxswain, US men's eight
What did it take here in the last 500 to get through?
We were just executing our plan, obviously you're redlining and holding on for the finish, and with the conditions, it was definitely a little bit swirly. So we just did our thing, and hung on.
Did the crew struggle with the water at all here at the end?
No, not really. The conditions are challenging, but they're not by any means unrowable. Even in this wind, you know it's good water if you can break a world record, and not only that, two crews break the world record in the same race.
---
Wyatt Allen, two-seat, US men's eight
What did it take for your crew to get through here in the last 500?
I really feel like the strength of the boat is having good base speed without having to empty the tank for 1500. I think that's a compliment to the stern pair, and how that straight four raced in Lucerne, hanging in there just to be in position. When we hit the 1500 meter mark, there wasn't any panic in the boat, we sort of knew that we were going to give it a good run.
You're in the two-seat, which puts you in the thick of it in terms of conditions. How rough did it get out there?
It was, ahhh, it was pretty rough. We definitely had some bobbles. It's interesting, because our boat does ride on aggression a bit, but I'm sure we're not the cleanest boat out there. And I have JR in bow whispering in my ear the whole way down the course so we keep it set for the big guys in the middle, so that's what we tried to do.
How bad did it get?
Well, we had no water in the boat, and we have some stuff for the boat, like a pump, and extended gunwales, and we didn't need those today. I think it's going to get a lot worse here; if we're lucky, it will be great.
Are you happy not to be in this rep?
I am, I am. It was the goal. I never mind another race, that's for sure, but it was the goal to avoid that rep.
---
Kate Johnson, Sam McGee, Lianne Nelson, bow, two, and stroke seat, respectively, US women's 8
Are you happy not to be in this rep?
Kate Johnson nods her head, then says "yeah." Ed says "the recorder can't hear you nod your head," even gets a laugh.
Lianne: I think the rep is one of the hardest races at the Olympics, because it's your final shot, so I'm always glad not to be in the rep.
Sam and Kate, you're in the bow pair - how bad were conditions?
Sam: It was very windy, but the start went very fast. They got us aligned, polled the crews, and we went. So it was hard to get nervous about it.
How about nearing the finish?
Kate: It definitely kicked in in the last 500. We were catching water the whole way down, so we definitely have a cleaner race in us, especially in the last 1500. It's good to know what you can improve upon, and where you might find more speed.
Were you surprised at how hard the Romanians came back?
Lianne: I think we were expecting them to do some kind of move at the 1000, and it's good to have that kind of feedback
Kate: I definitely thought "here they come, I'm ready." I could see them start to come back, and knew that was part of their plan. It was good because I thought everyone felt calm, collected, and stayed internal, and kept to our race plan. They definitely gave us a great push, but I'm glad they did, because we know more for the final.
How big was the lead during the race?
Kate: Mary called bow seat.
Do you prefer racing from the front?
It's fun, but we just seem to do it!
What about this world record?
We didn't even know until the TV people told us! (laughs)
Lianne: I think we had a lot of goals for this week, and that's one we can check off.
Monday Racing Cancelled
Due to gathering winds and an incoming storm system that are predicted to make conditions push past horrible through atrocious and into swamping, racing has been cancelled for Monday; the plan at present is to run both the intended Monday reps, and the scheduled Tuesday reps, back to back on Tuesday morning beginning at 8:30am.
Monday Racing Cancelled
Due to gathering winds and an incoming storm system that are predicted to make conditions push past horrible through atrocious and into swamping, racing has been cancelled for Monday; the plan at present is to run both the intended Monday reps, and the scheduled Tuesday reps, back to back on Tuesday morning beginning at 8:30am.
World Records
Three crews set world records today:
All three races were one-to-advance heats.
in the women's eight, both the US and Romanian eights beat the old world record (margin was 0.22, woah); and in the men's eight, both the US and Canada beat the old world record (margin 0.61).
The two US crews got the job done in very different style - the women led from start to finish, and held off a late Romanian charge, while the US men trailed most of the way, moving from third at 500 gone to second at the 1000, and only taking the lead in perhaps the last 20 strokes.
Time Nor Reason
It would be a mistake to get too wrapped up in the world record times, or even to compare the final times in the heats. But let's compare the times to the other 500 meter marks instead - the fastest crew to 500 meters gone mark, the 1000 meters gone mark, and the 1500 meters gone mark on the day was the same boat on all three counts - the Australian eight in the other heat.
Until they packed it in, the Italian eight was in the mix as well, only a half-second off the Americans.
What does it all mean? A burner of a final, I'd say.
Janet Jackson Moment
The US women's eight did not realize that they had set a new world record until they were being interviewed for television; when they were told, one of the women off-camera yelped "Holy s#*t!!" needless to say, NBC won't be airing that quote (row2k, on the other hand…)
Surprise of the Day
Talk about a homecourt advantage - the Greek light men's double beat the defending world champ Italians today in a one-to-qualify heat.
Non-Surprise of the Day
As hard as it is to believe, the Danish lightweight four came into the Olympics unseeded based on their shaky World Cup performance this year. The Danes look on form, tho; they won their heat with the second fastest time of the day.
Tom James Ill
British men's eight stroke Tom James was taken ill today and was replaced by Kieran West. Under FISA rules, James can return to the crew if he recovers during the regatta.
Conditions and Whatnot
With a crosstail coming off lane 1, all races were shifted toward the higher lanes as far as possible; six boat races rowed in lanes 2-7; four boat races in 4-7 (and in some cases, 3-6, for reasons no one could explain).
Conditions got pretty bad toward the finish line; especially the quads were catching diggers and crabs nearing the finish. The first 500 was pretty good; there was chop in the 2nd, the third 500 was showing whitecaps, and I would say there were waves in the final 500. it was still definitely "rowable," however, despite the relative nature of the term.
False Start is Good News for Some
In the first heat of the men's eight, the Australian eight was given a false start for being late to the line, and then subsequently on the start the race was called back for another false start. A review in the aligner's booth showed that in fact what happened was that the bowball of the Aussie boat was not inside the boot, and it looked like they had crossed the line from the official's tent. The race was called back, and no false start was awarded.
Subsequently officials had to clear water bottles from the lanes, so the wait for the actual start was a long one, but the photographer crews didn't mind - it gave them another chance at getting the shot they needed. Their comments: "Fantastic! Thank you! Let's do this every time!"
Drilling and Slapping
While waiting for the officials to clear the lanes of water bottles, the crews took different tactics to stay ready; the Aussies dipped their blades in and out of the water all eight on the square while balancing the boat; the French did placement drills, and a lot of athletes slapped their thighs to keep sharp. For such a tense moment, there was a lot of ambient noise coming from the water.
The US eight was pretty loose at the start; when they backed into the gates, Chris Ahrens and Bryan Volpenhein yelled hello to row2k, and JR followed up with a calmly stated "Bihvhar." Even the row2k photog had to laugh.
Tale of the Tape
Thanks to mongo, here are a batch of contender eights by average height and weight:
Men's Eights
Australia
Ht.: 6'5"
Wt.: 200
Canada
ht 6'4"
Wt: 197
Germany
Ht: 6'6"
Wt 212
USA
ht 6'4"
Wt: 205
Women
Australia
Ht.: 6'0"
Wt.: 163
Canada
ht 5'10"
Wt: 160
Germany
Ht: 6'0"
Wt 166
Romania
Ht.: 5'11"
Wt.: 165
USA
ht 6'0"
Wt: 174
Comments | Log in to comment |
There are no Comments yet
| |
