USA single sculler Gevvie Stone took the long road to Olympic Qualification, but she made it today in Lucerne. With bid in hand, her narrow miss at a spot during the 2011 Worlds, her trip through the Non-Qualified Trials back in the US, and her races at the Final Olympic Qualification Regatta all seem like pretty good preparation for the Games, now that she is assured she will make it to London as an Olympian.
row2k caught up with her after the racing in Lucerne:
row2k – So first question, are going to accept the bid as USA women’s single for the Olympics?
Gevvie Stone – Yes, absolutely! Who would say no to that? (laughs)
row2k – So how did your race go today?
GS – Today was definitely a good piece, a little bit of a head wind kicked up about five minutes before our race. I like racing in head winds, so I thought that was a good sign. Yesterday, my first 500 wasn’t as good as it could be or should be, so I knew I had to strengthen that today and I was right with the Estonian for that whole first 500; she’s usually a faster starter than I am. So then I felt like I was in a good place already at the 500, being right next her and being able to see Iva (SRB) and Sanita (IRL). I was rowing a bit lower than I wanted to be, but I had a good lock on the water and just pushed every stroke down the course.
row2k – So how were you doing in the last 500?
GS – I knew that I was in a good place compared to the Estonian. I didn’t look back enough to see where Crow (AUS) and Erichsen (DEN) were, but I knew that lanes five and six were fighting it out and I knew that I had to give it everything to stay ahead of that battle. I didn’t want to risk getting passed by both of them! I had to keep awareness of what was going on over there and it’s the final, so you have to sprint it out in the final! I took it up slightly at the 1250 and then took it up again with 300 to go.
row2k – What were you feeling when you crossed the finish line?
GS – To be totally honest I was just really tired (laughs). Being tired was definitely my first emotion, over being excited but excited definitely came after that! I’ve been working for this for a long time and put off medical school to do it and I love rowing and love rowing the single, so it’s pretty exciting!
row2k – You’re racing this weekend in the World Cup, then what are your plans between then and London?
GS – Go back to Boston and get faster. My master’s guys are already signed up for another two months of training. I’m just excited to be going and looking forward to getting faster!
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05/23/2012 2:34:46 PM
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