There may be no more stark tableau than a 7:30am, two-boat, winner-take-all third of best-of-three final in a single scull when the entire rest of the national team is already selected, signed, and sleeping in their new issued gear. Boxing might feel something like it, but at least they have a corner team and an audience filled with fans; in the single on a morning like this, after the starter calls "Attention, go," the competitors will row side by side for over a mile without hearing another human voice.
In today's race in particular, imagine even the 5:30am weigh-in - just two scullers and a bleary-eyed umpire. Some 70 minutes later the oarswomen launched from the same dock, warmed up in the same small warmup area, and pulled into the middle lanes of the race course, the choice of lanes decided the night before by a coin flip.
At the starting line today, Lisa Schlenker of the New York Athletic Club and Meghan Sarbanis of Undine Barge Club watched a sole official's launch pull into place, exchanged good luck wishes, and the flag went down and they were off, with absolutely everything on the line - but at least they're underway.
Today's race played out yet again in nearly identical fashion to the past two finals, with the crews never more than a few feet apart until the final 10-15 strokes. This morning, Schlenker nudged her bow out front early instead of shadowing Sarbanis for most of the race and counting on a sprint as she did in Final One - a tactic that failed her in Final Two - and was able to keep it there, if just barely, approaching the final 250. Then she pushed, and it was enough to get her the crucial six-eight feet that would decide the trial and give the 41-year-old sculler her 11th berth on a US team, dating back to her stint as an alternate in 1994.
Still side-by-side, the two scullers drifted beyond the line together, and then, a couple lengths further down the lake, Schlenker spun her boat to point her bow toward the starting line, and backed in to shake hands with Sarbanis, two incredibly evenly matched competitors acknowledging the intense events they had just been through together. "We just said good race, talked a little about the racing," Schlenker said later. "we had both said "good luck" at the starting line as well. As much as you want to win, you want to honor the sport and the other person's effort." It was an extremely powerful and touching display.
After the racing, Schlenker confirmed that she had changed tactics slightly for the third final. "I was in the lead early, for one, but more than that I decided just to keep my eyes straight forward and not to wonder where I was, but just to row my race," she said after the racing. "I had to honor my experience and my plan, and when I caught myself taking a look, I quickly looked straight down the lane again and focussed. I had been through this before, so I trusted my experience to get me through."
Indeed, Schlenker and Sherri Kiklas went to a third final way back in 1998; this time the outcome had to be a bit more enjoyable for Lisa.
The trial marked a promising debut in the single for Sarbanis; Meghan made the 2003 team in the light women's 2-, and has spent most of her time recently contesting in team boats. "This was my first year racing the single; I have been right there for so long, so I committed to the single because it is the best boat to test yourself and to prove yourself," Sarbanis said after the race. "There is no question whether you are fast or not like there might be in a team boat; it's just you, and you have to do it yourself.
"I felt like maybe I let the first final slip away, but I had a good week, and I never felt faster than I was this week," she continued. "I think there were five women in the event that could have won, and could do very well overseas, and I loved racing with them this week. "I have no doubt that Lisa will go over and win a medal - I think she can win the gold - which.... (pausing to laugh and then wince slightly) might be a bit of a tough pill to swallow, but I can't wait to see it."
Finally, Mike Altman checked in with row2k overnight to communicate his decision to decline a spot on the 2006 team: "I am juggling priorities right now with rowing, my MBA program at UCLA and my summer internship with a sports marketing firm in Atlanta. I wanted to stay in touch with rowing and decided that I could budget myself at least three weeks to row this summer. I take competing at the World Championships very seriously, and since I am new to sculling I wanted to race trials to see what kind of time I could post in the single. If I felt I could contend for a medal based on my speed, I would jump at the chance to race in England. But since the singles field in Europe is extremely tough (the Europeans start sculling early) and based on my raw speed this week at Mercer, I'm not ready to make a real impact just yet. As tough as it is to turn down a spot on the team this year, I'd personally be better off putting my energy into my internship and my studies for the rest of the summer and through the fall so I can fully devote myself to rowing as we get closer to the next Olympics. I am encouraged by my results based on my limited training this year and look forward to some fun racing for the U.S. through 2008 after I finish my degree in the spring of next year. Under USRowing's rules from previous years, the 2nd place finisher would have had the opportunity to race at Worlds after I declined. It was a surprise to me that this was not still the case, and it is a shame that the U.S. won't be represented in the event this year.
In the words of the Governator of my home state, 'I'll be back...'"
The concept behind the new rule is that if a sculler does not prove to be the fastest sculler in his or her class at trials, then they will have even more difficulty at a World Championships. As a result, only outright trials winners are given a berth on the team.
And so end the United States Senior Trials for 2006; we hope you have enjoyed the coverage.
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