The USA light women's double of Molly Reckford and Michelle Sechser easily won their repechage today after just falling short of going straight to the semifinal with a bad stroke in the final meters of the heat yesterday.
We spoke with Michelle in a mixed zone pileup soon after their race today.
Question: You had that really serious face going on today. It looked like you had the "this is it!" kind of a look.
Sechser: I mean, it is it. We knew that it is not ideal to be in the rep - Molly had that small digger yesterday in the last 15 strokes, not the way we were hoping to execute - but while we were confident that we were going to be able to show up and get the job done in the race this morning, there's still a lot on the line that one more mistake or just not getting the right rhythm or clipping the buoys they have here in the course could end the dream for us a lot sooner than expected.
So, yeah, we were pretty serious and focused, but also feeling pretty confident that getting the second run down the track from Molly and I is actually a really good thing. Still, as a new crew, we haven't put together an international campaign together yet, so I think staying really positive about what we can learn from each trip down the course is really going to help us.
Question: When you had to go through the repechage at the second trials, you still blew it out; here, it looked like the wind was pushing you out there.
Sechser: It did, yeah. We've been practicing for about a week now, and it definitely is gusting a little bit. It's a crosswind at the start, then it comes around to a little bit stronger of a head. I think training in Sarasota, Florida, prepared us really well for this. Just being really agile as the wind shifts and kind of whips around through different features on the course. It's good, and I actually really enjoyed it.
It's a new added challenge. When we're sitting ready, we are making sure that port hand is extended one centimeter longer, so out of the boot we can really stay centered in the lane.
row2k: You might have some weather coming this week. Have you talked about it, and how do you think about adjusting?
Sechser: Absolutely. Molly and I have yet to race a regatta together that did not have some sort of inclement weather policy in effect or updated schedules. Even at Trials Two, they crammed that together; at the qualification regatta in Lucerne, they shoved that all into a 25-hour span. Honestly, it feels pretty normal to be getting messages that there's some inclement weather moving in, and we need to be ready for anything, any day. It could be Tuesday, it could be Wednesday, we're not sure.
The biggest hope is just that semis are able to take place as scheduled but, like anything, it's just being relaxed and ready; it's out of our control, and that the committee will communicate that as timely as possible as they can.
row2k: Michelle, you guys were fairly dominant in today's rep. What are the tactical considerations between either blowing one out or doing just enough to qualify?
Sechser: I think it's certainly a fine balance. Aside from the small mistake in the last 15 strokes in the heat, there were still some adjustments - both to the rhythm and the biomechanics - that we really wanted to sharpen up, as we're still kind of getting some of those cobwebs off. We haven't raced since Switzerland, and it was a lot of travel - Sarasota to Chula Vista, Chula Vista to Hawaii, Hawaii to Tokyo.
We set those goals coming out of the heat and what we wanted to do better between our own gunnels this morning. Step one was executing that, being more confident and sure of our rhythm, regardless of what's going on in the field. And then, of course, closing in the wind while spending as little energy as possible, which is also a great racing tactic to be practicing - to get your bow in front. 97 percent effort for 100 percent speed.
Question: Did she actually lose her oar?
Sechser: She did. It was a small crab, a quick recovery. It did make its way into international rowing memes on Instagram this morning.
It's a fine balance. You know, the double is a tricky boat. You're in this together; it's a marriage. Anything she does, my success is riding on. Anything I do, her success is riding on. And also finding that balance of holding each other accountable to execute as best as possible, but supporting each other and staying positive and focused that we can talk through our fears or our mistakes and kind of find a way to make sure that they don't happen again.
Question: As you're moving along here, how different is it to have the Olympics without the fans? What do they typically give you and what is it lacking?
Sechser: Hmm. Honestly, it doesn't feel as different as you would expect. I'm sure for other sports - basketball, tennis, anything indoor - it might be a very different experience, but actually I think it makes it a little more intimate. Our first experience with that was in Lucerne, Switzerland, where normally coming into the finish line, especially when Olympic qualifications is on the line - I remember watching it in 2016, I was racing World Cup 3 a few days after qualification, and the screams and cheers when qualification is there on the line, it's deafening and emotional, especially when the parents are in the stand. We had a similar experience in Sarasota, Florida and the Worlds, the entire grandstand chanting, "U-S-A!" louder than I've ever heard it.
It's certainly different not having that, but it feels almost more intimate. You come to the finish, it's the hardest part of the race, your head is pounding, your legs are pounding, your breathing is rapid, and it's absolutely silent. There's something I think that makes it a little bit almost like Nirvana. You know, it's a very personal thing - just you and these other boats; you just hear the rigger knock, maybe a few calls in a different language that you don't understand.
The great part is, one, knowing my family doesn't have to go through all of the protocols that we all had to experience coming in through the airports, the quarantines, the COVID testing, and having seen even our own live footage of NBC and what they're doing with the drone, the wire, the under-the-bridge shots, everyone is the starting block, and actually, the footage on NBC is incredible, and it's probably better for the parents - how up close and personal they can see what's going on in the race, versus being in the stands for a mile and a quarter away from the start line. So it's not as sad as I expected it to be.
row2k: One more racing question. When you're in the stern, again, and you're racing in an event like this, what goes through your head as an athlete when you do start to get those bigger margins and you're just really moving?
Sechser: When we start to open up, the first thing to do is relax into the rhythm, make sure we're cleaning up, getting big breaths, and making sure that, now that we have the field in our view, in our line of sight, being very in-command of that. Learning to relax and find a deeper level of power that isn't ever coming from a place of needing to make up ground. We've got a lot of good power in our boat, and when we can relax into it, we actually manage to go faster.
You didn't ask me what my favorite food was in the village yet.
Question: What was your favorite food in the village?
Sechser: I will say the dining hall has been incredible - even for lightweights. They do have a Japanese sushi bar that is perfect for lightweights - some great seafood on rice. It has been really fun to experience, you know, what they've been able to set up for us there.
row2k: The lightweight experience in the village because you have to be very reeled in, but also, it's an awesome place.
Sechser: It's actually, I think, better than anything I've ever experienced before, especially in terms of nutrition and what we need; what Tokyo is able to put on for a dining hall is just phenomenal. I'm sure you guys have heard about it or seen about it, there's like 700 food options. It makes it a lot of fun for lightweights, actually. Sometimes, when we get to the smaller European countries, you're very limited to what your options might be as a lightweight, but the food here in Tokyo has been just fantastic.
It's nice also as lightweights that, we're trying to keep moving and staying on top of our weight, so being in that beautiful village where it's got streets that are closed to cars, and you can walk around the whole thing, a 20-minute run to do a whole loop around it. It's actually a really nice, relaxing experience. It's much easier to manage; everything is better than I expected.
Question: I think your food choices are better than the media press center.
Sechser: Yeah. You know, if you eat things with chopsticks, it takes longer, so it actually becomes a really nice lightweight experience. We're really enjoying it there, and the volunteers have been great, everyone is so friendly. Molly and I are trying to learn what little broken Japanese words we can has made it a pretty fun trip.
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