The US Men’s light 4 took second in their heat today to advance directly to the Tuesday semifinals, no small feat in one of the tightest events in the sport, and some of the most challenging conditions seen in some time. We spoke with Ed King following their race today.
“It was top three qualify directly to the semis, so our goal was to come in the top three, so it was a good enough result," he said. “We had a pretty nice start. The conditions were a little bit nicer in the opening 200, and through the middle of the race, we settled into a rhythm, holding the field because conditions became pretty bad; pretty choppy. We just wanted to maintain our standing in the field, and as soon as it was clear that we were going to meet that margin of top three, we just tried maintaining and sustaining where we were.
“We were happy about the race, but obviously we came here to win, so hopefully we can fine-tune our race a little bit over the next couple of days. Then come semis on the ninth, we can throw down a better piece.”
Like many crews racing today, the crew had to adjust their approach mid-race, notably scrapping the usual lightweight approach of rowing high and hard pretty much the whole way.
"Obviously, the conditions definitely drove our race plan a little bit to a certain extent," King said. "Normally, I think we would have rated just a couple beats higher, but you can catch a crab and go from first to last instantly. Once we were comfortable, we just settled into a nice, sustainable rhythm. I think we actually rowed a few beats low. I'm not quite sure. Tyler looks at the stroke coach; I just follow. The conditions definitely played into our race."
Many athletes said they were forced to row short and barely pulling, but the US light four seemed to get a decent, full piece in.
"I would say I was able to pull because at the end of the race I was tired," he said. "In a very strong tail like that, it's hard to find that heavy connection. I thought we did a good job just keeping it light and keeping the boat moving down the course."
King goes by the name Mix; he explained the origins of the name today. "My middle name was Michael, so growing up everyone called me Mickey," he said. "That shortened down to Mick, M-I-C-K, and then just over time it just evolved into Mix.
"Eventually so many people were calling me Mix that I had to introduce myself by that, or else no one would know who I was. It just kind of stuck, and it's nice and short. It's easy to write. I guess it's unique and, yeah, I like it. It's a good nickname!"
Mix and the crew should be right in the mix come Tuesday.
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