The field in the women's single is terrifyingly deep and fast; we straight punted on making a prediction in our preview.
We spoke to several of the women's scullers after the racing, including all three medalists from 2019; here is what they had to say.
Kara Kohler, USA Women's 1x
For her part, Kohler won the first women's race of the 202One Games in Heat One of the women's single. Kohler won her race with a fairly workaday turn down the course, leading throughout and somewhat cruising to the finish. Kohler's last Olympic Games was way back in 2012, where she was in the bronze medal winning US women's quad.
Nine years on, Kohler said she feels both more prepared and more tuned in to the whole Olympic experience.
"It's prepared me even better, and it means a lot more," she said. "It's been nine years of blood sweat and tears to get to this, so I feel more prepared, and also appreciative of the experience."
If a tailwind comes up, the course can potentially be very fast, and there is already one new Olympic record in the men's double - but Kohler would love to see one in her event.
"It felt a bit variable on the course - it felt like a headwind in the last 250 - but I'll be prepared for anything. But a world record in the women's single would be great, because it is the oldest world record out there!"
See for yourself - the Olympic record dates to 2004, and the world record to 2002.
Sanita Puspure, Ireland Women's Single
As defending World Champion, Puspure is a bonafide celebrity in Ireland, so the first question from the Irish press was about the influence of her fandom at home, and how it plays out on the racecourse.
"I read all the messages - I don't reply to them all - but I still get all the energy and positive vibes from home,' she said. "But from there you don't think too far ahead; you come up with a plan to get through the next round safely, and just focus on the next round. For our race it was a cross and a headwind, and you can see now it is a tailwind, so it changes very rapidly and you just have to adapt as you go."
Puspure and her Irish teammates isolated at a training camp in recent weeks, which several Irish rowers mentioned in our interviews with them last week.
"I do feel prepared; we had a really good training camp, and from there we will just have to wait and see!"
Emma Twigg, New Zealand Women's Single
Puspure, Twigg, and Kohler were the 2019 medalists; Twigg was feeling the wait in the same way many others were, and blew out the cobwebs with the fastest time of the day today.
"This felt pretty special, it's been a long time coming," she said. That's the first race I've done in some time, so you are trying to absorb what is going on around you. I just go out there to do my thing, and in these early races no one really shows their cards."
Do you leave anything in the tank in a race with three to qualify?
"Yes and no; I definitely wanted to make that a solid one with a whole week before finals and you don't want to get too lazy on it early on."
Carling Zeeman, Canadian W1x
Zeeman placed second in her heat with a time that would have won all but one of the other heats.
"Each Games is pretty special, but for this one I have had a tough year, and to get here to Tokyo is a pretty special feeling," she said. "For me this is the fun part, I don't have to worry about anything else."
Zeeman felt the extra year of training only helped her.
"I really tried to work it to my advantage; I'm in that prime age where I'm not quite over the hill yet, and I still had a little ways to go technically, so for me I felt that I could hold on mentally, it would produce huge gains for me on the water."
Do you feel wiser, she was asked?
"Yeah, I do (laughs). The first time, your head is on a swivel a little bit; you see someone famous and you are starstruck, and you are trying to wrap your head around everything. The second time around, it's more like, oh yeah, this is how it is."
Jeanine Gmelin, Swiss Women's Single
Gmelin talked about her embrace of the race progression at the Olympics, as well as about cherishing racing in her chosen event.
"Well, it's a race so you have to race!" she said about tactics in the heats. "One of the advantages of the women's single for me is that you have those four races, so it is a buildup on every race, and I personally really like it. You have a good run-through in the heats, then it gets more serious in the quarters, and you know the semifinal is going to be savage, so you really know each race is going to be a step more."
"It's a big privilege to race in the women's single; one of the commentators said the women's single field is the most competitive, and I couldn't agree more. It's amazing how many strong and capable women we have in the field, and I feel really grateful to be racing with them.
"It is great to be in a field that is better, faster, and stronger all the time."
What about higher, she was asked, in reference to the Olympic credo?
"I am done growing," said Gmelin, who is a fair bit shorter than many of her competitors. "I don't think I will get any taller than I am now!"
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