Tears of happiness and tears of joy
– washed away by the rain
Torrential rain and choppy waters were a recurring theme at the Bosbaan in Amsterdam this past weekend. The Netherlands usually enjoys sunny weather at the end of July, but it looked and felt as if fall had arrived several months too early. The rain didn’t stop the crowds from enjoying the rowing, however, and with plenty of new world records, there was more than enough to cheer about.
To top it all, the United States men’s eight won the final race of the tournament, beating the Czech Republic in a cracking final sprint and shattering the world best time by little over six seconds. The Under 23 world record now sits at 5:24.31, less than five seconds away from the senior best time.
US stroke Michael Gennaro had an emotional moment after winning the gold medal. “Yeah, I cried a little,” he admitted, “Rowing’s pretty much the only thing I’m good at. When you find out you’re actually the best in the world, that’s an amazing feeling.” Little wonder that the crew broke into a cheer immediately upon crossing the finish line. Gennaro and Dariush Aghai, the number seven seat from Skokie, Illinois, even stood up in the boat to hug each other in appreciation.
The world title for the men’s eight put the total medal haul for the American team at two golds and two bronze. No mean feat, but should the country with the biggest presence here, along with Germany, have won more medals? According to Mike Teti, head coach of the men’s eight, participating in the World Rowing Under 23 Championships is not just about winning medals. “I myself remember coming to Amsterdam in 1977. Rowing at international level was an eye opener for me. The same goes for these athletes. You need to race at these tournaments to understand what is necessary for the next level: the Olympics.”
“Some of the crews have only been together for three weeks,” Teti went on to say. “The men’s quad finished fourth, and trust me – these guys only just started sculling. I think there’s lots of potential in this group. Some of the rowers might even be good enough for London 2012. I’ll be sure to relay this to [US Head Coach] Tim McLaren when I speak to him.”
The USA’s other gold medal came courtesy of Grace Luczak and Felice Mueller, who dominated in the women’s pair final as they raced toward a new world record. For Mueller, it was a second consecutive pairs win in a record time: in 2010, she partnered with Ashley Kroll in a duo that actually broke the BW2- record at the US trials before making it official with a triumph in Brest. In Amsterdam, Mueller and her new partner, Grace Luczak – herself a U23 World Champiuon and a senior Worlds medallist – raised the stakes a bit, choosing to race the pair and also double into the women’s eight.
Luczak and Mueller treated the crowd to broad smiles after their impressive 7:05.13 in the pair, but twenty-four hours later there were tears when the US women’s eight failed to defend its gold medal. The favorites were not only bested by main rivals Canada, but also by the spirited New Zealand crew. For a US squad tipped to win again after taking all the sweep events a year ago, coming in third did not feel like winning the bronze medal, but more like losing the gold.
If the eight’s bronze was unexpected, so was America’s other bronze medal: no US men’s single sculler had ever made a U23 final, so lightweight single sculler Andrew Campbell, Jr. was definitely pleased with his bronze medal. Just a year removed from his matching bronze at the Junior Worlds – itself a rarity for a US sculler – Campbell was on form throughout, winning his heat and quarterfinal before making the final comfortably behind only the eventual champion, France’s Jeremie Azou.
“It’s my first year as a lightweight. It’s a big difference to my junior rowing career – right now I don’t feel like the smallest kid on the block anymore.” Campbell, who qualified for the World Under 23’s by dominating at the US trials and winning the LM1x at the national championships, added that he intends to try out for the senior team this year as well. The former junior rower from New Canaan, Connecticut has a down-to-earth yet carefree attitude, which will undoubtedly help him towards reaching his goals. It certainly helped him weather the rough conditions on the Bosbaan course in Amsterdam.
By eight o’clock in the evening on Sunday, when the competitors and the fans were long gone, the sun finally made an appearance. The storm had passed and America’s top rowing talents had prevailed. It may not have been easy, but in high performance sports nothing is. Just as coach Mike Teti said, rowers need to participate on an international level in order to achieve their potential.
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