Conditions
The threat of a thunderstorm caused the course to be cleared, and finally closed, last night; this morning's front brought in a brisk tailwind, so-called "prevailing conditions" on Martindale Pond. The water is not bad, however; no white caps at this point, just after the start of racing in the morning.
Almost daily, conditions have changed during the day, occassionally turning around completely, 180 degree switches in wind direction.
DQ
During yesterday's racing, a Polish single sculler was awarded a false start after violating the traffic pattern. The athlete was apparently told of the offense at the starting line, and a red panel was put behind her lane.
However, whether due to a language barrier, or insufficient warning, the sculler was not aware she was awarded the false start. The sculler subsequently false started for real, was awarded a second false start, and was disqualified.
The sculler and her coaches were tremendously upset, but as I understand it, the disqualification stands.
I Am No Name
(Name the source of this headline.) You tell me:
Commentators
The aforementioned on-water commentators are USRowing President and Yale men's coach Dave Vogel, and UW men's coach Bob Ernst. Best seat in the house for those boys.
The Site
Life on Henley Island is quiet on the whole; the athletes' seclusion from the bustle and excitement of the finish line is probably seen as both a blessing and an unfortunate scenario. The well-intentioned, but sometimes distracting attentions of parents and friends that might have occurred is arguably a good thing (?), but the crackling atmosphere that surrounds a close finish going off mere meters away is lost.
On the whole, the setup seems very good, and very much athlete-centric.
Strange Sighting
Driving to the course, some US folks saw a tall runner coming up the road. "That's Chris Clark," one said, and the man cut a figure much like Clarkie. As they got closer, one noted that the runner's face looked very much like Gavin White.
The two coaches have shared the same launch in Princeton, and teamed up to coach the same crews, for three years now. Have they melded into one on some other dimension, from which we had a visitor posing as a jogger?
There are 1,070 athletes competing this year.
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