The USA women's quad never really found its purchase as the regatta got underway, despite having evolved extremely quickly as a pretty slick and at times very fast quad back home. Failing to make the A final through today's rep, they will race in the B final on Wednesday morning.
The sixth-place 2016 Olympic double of Ellen Tomek and Meghan O'Leary were the stern pair of the 2020 quad, and joined us in the mixed zone after their races this morning.
row2k: You are both experienced Olympians; what thoughts go through your mind when you come up just a little short like you did today?
Ellen Tomek: Yeah, today we came up a little short, and we were definitely disappointed. We had pretty high expectations coming into this regatta. We've had some really good selection pieces and pieces as a crew, and then just haven't been able to put it together, so I think it's really disappointing. I think it's my third Olympics as well. I had pretty high expectations. You know, the plan was that this was my last chance at a medal, and didn't even make it for a shot there, so just a lot of disappointment.
Meghan O'Leary: I mean, she said it. I think it's a lot of disappointment. Honestly, I think it's a little bit of a shock. Ellen and I have been at this a long time. We've certainly had our ups and downs. This feels like a pretty big down but, you know, I mean, it happens. It's so much about performing at the Olympics is timing. It's experience. We have a really inexperienced crew, separate from the years we've put in, and when you're going up against crews that have been together for years and this is what they do, it matters, and I think that that caught up to our crew especially, and kind of being taken aback and not being able to put it together on the biggest stage.
row2k: Based on your training, do you think this is more a question of execution, mindset, or honestly do you just not know?
O'Leary: I think when you throw four athletes together in six weeks and expect greatness, it absolutely can happen, but you're threading a needle.
I think our system - the American system - does things differently, and I think that we've had potential. I think this is actually one of the better sculling crews that we've had in terms of skill level and experience in sculling boats but, in terms of the experiment of throwing athletes together, I think it didn't fail miserably, but it failed. I think that there are some things to learn, but still my story, my narrative this whole last several years has been we have good sculling athletes in the States, and I just don't think we're doing the right process to get us to a place where we can medal.
I think that's part of the factors that played into the heat and then today of just, man, we have so much potential in that boat, and we just couldn't put it together. Part of that is time. Part of that is preparation. You know, we've got some young athletes in the boat, and I think they learned a lot.
row2k: Question for Ellen here. I remember when you and Megan Kalmoe raced the double in Beijing in 2008, you were a pretty young crew - a pretty fresh crew. For lack of a better description, you guys had this "ra-ra" style - like, "It's the heat, wee! It's the semis, wee!" Was that different for these younger athletes in your crew? Or does that not work for everyone?
Tomek: Yeah, that's a good question. I think Kalmoe and I had something special in that we were cocky little shits.
O'Leary: Still!
Tomek: And so I think it's hard to tell two athletes who think they're hot shit that they're not. And so, we showed up and racing the Evers-Swindells, we were like, "There's no reason why we can't beat them."
Of course, we didn't beat them, but I think going into the race and thinking we stood a chance, that took us a really long way. It got us into the final and when we were in Beijing, there was some lane stuff going on, but that was the closest that we had ever been to the Chinese crew that we had raced all year, and they were the favorites going in.
Even though we had placed fifth, we actually had a really good regatta, and honestly it was just because we had this attitude that we should win. I don't know where that came from. Maybe we were just born with it. Maybe our parents cultivated that, but I think we both had it.
Honestly, we're still all getting to know each other. I think Kalmoe and I, we knew each other. We were roommates, so we had a special, like, friendship bond going into it, too. You know, Meghan and I here know each other, but the four of us are still sort of getting to know each other and, like, you know, what works as a crew, what works for each other, and we just didn't quite have that, like, established persona, or established uniform mentality as a boat. I think we had days of it, and we had even weeks or stretches of it - but it was not quite the same.
As Meghan said, I think we can do some things differently as a country, but overall, this boat is super talented. I think that's why it's so disappointing, because we've seen some crazy speed - probably the fastest speed I've ever been in in a boat as far as close to a world record pace, and I think that's why it hurts so much.
Question: In your Olympic experience, has the lack of fans made a difference?
Tomek: Yeah, it's interesting. I didn't think it would make a difference. We're used to racing all our selection regattas, and maybe you can hear your coach yell for you. I don't think it played a difference in the outcome, but when you cross the line and it's hurting and you feel like you're going to pass out and you don't hear the USA chant, it hurts a little bit more. It honestly does.
So, yeah, I'm definitely missing not having my family here, but I know they're cheering for me at home. My parents are having a great time at the USA house down at Universal. I know my girlfriend and her family are having a watch party right now. Everyone is cheering us on. But when you're hurting and sad and you can't look up for your mom in the stands, I think it sucks.
Question: Is the crowd noticeable in the middle of a race? When you're on the water, what do you feed off of? Or not?
O'Leary: In theory, in that last 500, you're at a place of just blackout, right? I know that when we had a big semi-final push in Rio and I can think about coming through the crowd - I don't remember much of that last part of the race, but there is an energy that's gathered or kind of soaked in as you're coming through kind of the roar of a crowd, and it seems to just push you through.
It's interesting now that you ask it, yeah, I do think that there's something to it. Rowing is unique, and we are in such a place - like a zone - but right, if you hear "U-S-A! U-S-A!," it matters. But, I think, for us, it was not the factor here.
Tomek: This wasn't at the Olympics, but I remember in 2015, it was a qualifying year, and we were not having a good regatta, and we were just trying to qualify the double for the Olympics, and we had an outside lane and France had an outside lane next to the stands, and it was a home race for them. We were racing in Aiguebelette, France. They went from sixth to first in the B-final in 500 meters just because of literally the energy of the crowd propelled them.
So yeah, it could make a difference. You know, was it the difference today? Absolutely not. But yeah, I think it can help, and I do miss it.
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