Quotes from Josh Inman, Matt Schnobrich, Bryan Volpenhein, and head coach Mike Teti of the US men's eight previewing Sunday's Olympic men's eight final.
-Mike Teti (Upper Darby, Pa.) -- Men's Head Coach
...on the team's chances of winning or medaling on Sunday
"We're not looking at it that way. We know we didn't have a great heat, and we tried to improve for the rep. We're trying to make more improvements the next couple of days and see where it puts us. The main focus is to improve the boat over the next few workouts. I'm not really focusing on any other crews or anything like that."
...on the improvements from the heat to the repechage
"It was a really good effort in the heat. They went really hard but were a little bit inefficient. We made a couple of technical changes, and I think they were able to have a more composed race in the rep. But, it wasn't against the top two crews, so we'll see what happens."
on Canada being the team to beat
"If yesterday tells us anything, we're looking at everybody. You just try to get in front of the guys next to you. I don't think anyone would have thought, looking at the four's race yesterday, that Italy and The Netherlands would get fourth and sixth. I don't think anyone thought that the gold, silver and bronze medalists from last year would have not made the final. They are all really good crews... same thing in the pair. I just think anything can happen. To focus on one boat is not wise."
...on if the victory at the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens impacts this crew
"No. In Athens, all the journalists were asking me to compare it to 1964, and I said, 'Well, that was the Johnson administration, and these guys weren't born yet.' They weren't thinking about that. They were just thinking of improving. They had a good boat and had to perform in the final. These guys are the same way. Even the guys who were in that boat, even Bryan (Volpenhein), Wyatt (Allen) and Beau (Hoopman), never mention that in Athens we did this. They never mention that. It is four years later, a different set of circumstances, with new people in the boat. These guy's have their opportunity to make their mark, and we're racing against different people. It's ancient history."
...comparing how he felt going into the Athens final and Sunday's final
"I would say I was a nervous wreck going into the Athens final, and I'm a nervous wreck now. We had a good crew four years ago; these guys are a good crew. There are six places up for grabs on Sunday, and we cannot have a bad day... It's like being a parent to some degree. Your kids leave the house in the morning to go to school, and you just pray to God that everything's going to be okay. When these guys shove off the dock and I say good luck, you pray to God that everything's going to be okay. In that respect, it's the same."
-Josh Inman (Hillsboro, Ore.) -- seven seat
...on his feelings going into Sunday's final
"I'm really excited about Sunday. I'm just really excited to race and compete. I feel like our chances are as good as ever. The heat was a little disappointing, but we've been making improvements. I think everybody is expected to make improvements, and it's going to be a good race."
...on whether the returning members from the 2004 crew have talked about the experience
"A little bit. The main thing that they have talked about is that every boat is different and every race is different. I think they have tried to shy away from trying to make this too much like the Athens boat. We're just trying to stay in the present instead of trying to do the same thing over again because we know it is going to be a different race, a different course, and more competitive than it was then."
...on if he feels like they are defending the gold medal
"A little bit. As a country, we won the gold. I wasn't on that team when they won the gold, but you still carry that tradition and still remember that."
-Matt Schnobrich (St. Paul, Minn.) -- two seat
...on his feelings going into Sunday's final
"I think we feel pretty good. After the heats, we saw some things that we needed to work on and we needed to build off of. I think that we have really tried to do that over the course of the last two or three days, and we'll try to do that over the next two or three days. I think our race in the repechage was a lot better. We executed what we needed to, and I think we responded where we had to."
-Bryan Volpenhein (Cincinnati, Ohio) -- stroke seat
...on if this Olympics is different from the 2004 experience
"This year is a little bit different. In 2004, we won the heat, so I think we were ready to go that whole week. This time, we are building confidence as we go. We didn't have a very good heat, but we came back and made some adjustments in the rep and we are going to try to build off of that. We're just focusing on our own boat. We're trying to stay internal and just execute our own race."
...on if he feels like they are defending the gold medal
"Not at all. The Canadians have been dominating the eight for so long now, at least it seems that way. They are the ones to beat. We definitely have our work cut out for us, so we're just looking to get out nose in there and do the best we can."
...on if their outlook has changed since the repechage
"Not that much. We knew we were a fast crew, and we knew that we had speed. It's just a matter of building our own confidence, staying within ourselves and executing that speed on race day. The rep was a good step in that direction, and we're trying to stay on that path."
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08/15/2008 7:04:45 PM
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