row2k spoke with three returnees from the USA 2022 Beach Sprints team ahead of tomorrow's heats about the differences in their training, tactics, and the course from last year to this year, including Saundersfoot's formidable tide swings.
US Junior Mixed Double of Britt Wotovich and Brian O'Leary
The Junior Mixed Double of Britt Wotovich and Brian O'Leary won silver in the same event last year in Portugal.
row2k:
You were on the team last year in Portugal; what's different here about Saundersfoot now that you've had a chance to be out to practice?
Brian O'Leary:
Here at Saundersfoot, there's less of a current that we see. The air is definitely colder, but the water is consistently more flat, so it's like almost like a drag strip. Everyone is moving much faster, and it's gonna be a fun, quick set of races this year.
Britt Wotovich:
Definitely the tide coming in and out so far; it's totally new to me. I've never experienced that. Honestly, I love it; it's super cool to have to adapt to new challenges.
row2k:
The way I understand it, depending on where you are in the like your run could be quite a bit longer depending on where the tide is.
O'Leary:
Yeah, that is right.
row2k:
How much have you been able to practice?
O'Leary:
We had the two practice days, and we had a couple of workouts before the practice days here.
row2k:
Was your training different at all this year since you had already been to the World Championships; did you approach the year differently? Did you learn any lessons that you feel like you have in your back pocket now?
O'Leary:
Throughout the year I focused mainly on getting stronger; I put on some weight to develop myself as a Beach Sprints athlete, but also a rower in general. So I'm much faster this year, and on flat water I feel like it'll benefit me much more.
Wotovich:
We tried some new techniques that we learned last year, but we didn't get the chance to implement them. So we're coming back with new ways to row, and new knowledge on how to do coastal rowing.
row2k:
When you talk about like new techniques, do you mean things like getting in and out of the boat and turning - actual beach sprint tactics?
Wotovich:
Yes, and even here now, I've seen some techniques that we definitely want to go back and practice, or maybe work on for next time.
row2k:
To what extent do you watch what the other teams are doing? Really almost everybody is somewhat new to this.
O'Leary:
Beach rowing is kind of like a sandbox; you'll learn what to do the more you do it, and everybody has their own way to do something because it's not going straight down a 2000 meter course. There are 100 ways to get in the boat. There's 100 ways to spin a buoy and there's 100 ways to jump out of the boat. So it's a lot of learning, and a lot of fun.
Wotovich:
I would say we're definitely trying to keep our heads in the game and focus on ourselves, but also we're looking at other teams to see what we can do for next year. It's a little late for us to change stuff right now, but we can definitely watch other teams for the next time.
row2k:
And when you're done with this junior thing, is it on to the senior Beach Sprints team?
O'Leary:
Possibly, if we keep doing well then we'll stick with it.
John Olbrys of the US Open Mixed Double
John Olbrys rows the Open Mixed Double with Elizabeth Hinley; Hinley repeats in the event, while Olbrys won bronze in the mixed quad with coxswain last year.
John Olbrys:
It's been a fun year preparing for this especially because as I've gone along training for it, I've been able to get other people excited about it. So training at Potomac, which is on a river in DC, enough people heard how much fun I had that Potomac fielded a Quad at trials. It's fun to get people really excited and get the energy going. As the great Christine Cavallo once said, Beach Sprints is literally one Tiki Bar short of a beach party: the energy is always really high. Even if you lose right out the gate, you're still on the beach when you're done, and it's just so much fun to be here.
row2k:
Were there things that like you kind of took from the competition last year that you focused on as you prepared for this year?
Olbrys:
Things like doing the the turn and working on the slalom. I actually did a bunch of that in a flat water single on the river - just to visualize going through the slalom, trying to get my turn as sharp as I could in a long boat so that when I'm in a shorter, more maneuverable coastal boat, it was just second nature.
Notes From The Beach
Shared Shell Hacks - At least one team brought athlete-specific seats, because a lot of the rigging is fixed in the shared boats being used for the racing. Quickest way to change heights then? A seat with right-sized risers for each athlete. Slick trick.
Heard More Than Once - “Welcome to salt water, eh?" Seems obvious for coastal rowing, but this is a whole community of folks who only row in salt water, so they know all the tips and tricks for keeping their equipment working despite the non-sweet water. Case in point? The seat hack: much easier to have individual seats that to try relying on tape and seat pads in the salty water.
Coffee Comes to Those Who Wait - The shallow bay and long tidal footprint means the volunteers working the beach wind up hundreds of meters away from where they started the day...so a coffee wagon comes around for those who need it, or a cup of tea.
Nailing the Dismount - A significant amount of your daily practice time in coastal goes to getting in and out of the boat, at speed--and nailing the dismount for your sprint up the beach to the finish line is a huge emphasis. At least one athlete today rolled an ankle, and quite a few wound up taking a dunking in the process.
And That’s Why She’s the Champ, folks - What did Tokyo Olympic Champ Emma Twigg practice, over and over? Her transitions into and out of the boat, and she really put in her reps. A few teams cycled through the practice area, but Twigg out-lasted them all...like a champ.
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