As athletes arrived at Lac d'Aiguebelette, France, for the 2015 World Rowing Championships, social media focused on the rugged but sophisticated beauty of the place as feeds bloomed with photos of and exclamations about the soaring cliffs, deep green water that plunges 70 meters to the bottom, tree-covered boat areas, and pretty countryside that make this a one-of-a-kind place for rowing.
With all the peaks in the area, after two weeks in Rio just short while ago I admit I kept scanning for a giant statue on top of one of them – and sure enough, while it wasn't a statue, Aiguebelette did not disappoint.
But that was last week, and while it was a good time to absorb all the beauty around them, by this morning the stakes of this pre-Olympic World Championship and the intensity it is going to require was taking over everyone's frontal lobes, and after a "college uni day" outing here, here, here and here, here and a lot more here, coaches eating ice cream and making nation-specific coffee, wearing custom tees, and guys putting on temporary tattoos to match their boat mates, it was game on – with athletes doing whatever it takes to get focused, even if it is doing some coloring books.
And it is already requiring some focus; as the biggest World Championships in history, as a few first-timers from a couple different countries noted how busy it is out there during practice.
How busy? How about 41 men's and 35 women's singles; 36 light men's and 22 light women's singles; 29 men's and 25 women's doubles; 33 light men's and 27 light women's doubles; and 27 men's and 22 women's pairs and 15 light men's pairs. There is a virtual sea of singles, doubles and pairs in the boatyard.
The big boats are fairly heavily subscribed as well – the light men's four has 24 entries, the men's quad 16 entries, the women's quad 11 entries, and the men's eight goes to semis this year, with 13 entries – which has not happened since the last pre-Olympic Worlds, in 2011.
The prize on nearly every athlete and coach's mind is one thing: a shot at an Olympic medal beginning 342 days from now.
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