The first day of racing at Tokyo 2020ne concluded with the heats in the men's and women's quads.
The men's quad could shape up to be one of the tightest races for the top spot; today's heats had three crews between 5:39.25 and 5:39.80.
In the women's quad, while event favorites China and Germany took their heats as expected, the new-look USA women's crew of Ellen Tomek, Meghan O'Leary, Alie Rusher and Cicely Madden started their Olympics off with a tough row, finishing fifth in their heat.
After the racing, we talked to Rusher about the race, what the crew hopes to change before their next race, and the pressures of rowing the Olympics with two Olympian parents watching at home.
"At first, I was just bummed that we were dropped off the start. I think we have a lot more speed than we showed today and I'm glad that our first race is over and we can focus on coming together with a lot of speed."
"Our practices have been going really well, so the only change we are going to make is coming off the start a little more aggressive, a little sharper. We kind of got dropped immediately, and I think that wasn't a great way to start."
Rusher took a positive tack about any possible changes before the rep.
"We will definitely talk about what our best practices were like, and remembering where we got the most speed together. We've been talking about having a little more boat run, so we'll work on relaxing together. Super aggressive start, finishing through with the hips, and knowing we have what it takes."
Rusher was also quick to credit her teammates Ellen Tomek and Meghan O'Leary, both of whom have previous Olympic experience, for putting the crew in the right frame of mind.
"Right before the race, hearing from Meg 'we're ready for this,' it was just good to have those external cues."
"Ellen always has such a cool head, and right after our piece today she turned to us on the dock and let us know, 'that wasn't us, we can do better next time,' reminding us to have the confidence next time. I really needed to hear that in that moment."
So, how has Rusher, a first-time Olympian, handled her experience?
"At first I was worried I would be really distracted by everything. There's a lot going on, tons of people in the dining hall, tons of different colors and countries, but I think that I've been pretty impressed with how the athletes seem to be composing themselves. I've been trying to take cues from the older and more experienced athletes, and taking it one step at a time."
As far as continuing the Olympic tradition in the Rusher household, Rusher indicated that she wasn't settling.
"I am really excited to join them. I definitely don't the race that we had today to be my Olympic legacy. I'm excited to start at the bottom and have the whole rest of the regatta open to us. Nowhere to go but up."
"I talked to my parents a little bit last night. They said that it's OK to be nervous, it's OK to have all of these feelings that I have been having, because this is the most important race of my life so far. It was helpful to hear that I was not super in control of everything that was happening, and that I have the practice experience and the mental training to just keep stepping through each race of the regatta."
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