It's An Oarsome Slow Row But They're In The Flow
Sydney Morning Herald
Friday March 20, 1998
Rowing will be one of the high-profile disciplines at Sydney 2000. JENNIE CURTIN assesses the sport's position after last week's national titles.
NOTHING happens fast in rowing. Well, apart from the rac ing itself, which is a frenetic and exhausting blend of splashing oars, the cries of the coxswains and groans of effort from the oarsmen and women.
But as a sport, there's no fast route to the top.
This is not a career for those who crave instant gratification. Rather, it's a long, slow road of endurance training followed by speed work, the one and then the other, building up, tapering down.
It's endless stretches of early mornings on the water and in the gym, months, nay years, of toil to work up the tolerance to row through the pain at speed.
Which is why Rowing Australia's head coach, Brian Richardson, is pretty happy with the recent pace. Things are moving along steadily, which is how he thinks it should be.
He should know. Richardson represented Australia in the men's eight at Montreal in 1976 and Moscow in 1980, as well as sailing on Australia II in the victorious America's Cup campaign of 1983. He has the hours behind him to know just how long it takes to make a champion athlete.
In rowing, it is usually quite some years. The average age of the rowing gold medallists in Atlanta was 28. The Romanian women's eight which won the gold averaged 30. A Norwegian who was part of the silver medal-winning men's quads at Seoul in 1988 was 42.
Clearly, this is a sport where maturity, of mind and body, rate highly. As does experience. The other common characteristic of many Olympic medallists is that they are often competing in their second Games.
The Australian story bears that out. Two members of the Oarsome Foursome which won gold at Barcelona in 1992 - Mike McKay and James Tomkins - had previously competed at Seoul, coming fifth. They also backed up to win gold at Atlanta and are determined to make it three in a row in Sydney.
The other gold for Australia in Atlanta went to Kate Slatter and Megan Still in the coxless pair. They had previous experience at Barcelona.
So, this rowing campaign is no rush job for 2000. It's a long-term plan put together more than 18 months ago and details how to get the team to Sydney in peak condition.
This year's program began at the national championships at Nagambie Lakes, Victoria, last weekend. The next step is a selection trial at Penrith over Easter and a second at the same venue in early May.
From that, a team will be chosen to travel to Europe for a series of regattas, culminating in the world championships in Germany.
It will be interesting to see how many Atlanta veterans make it. While Richardson was happy with performances at the nationals - "I think the standard was very high" - he has some doubts.
"There were a few resting Olympians who appear to have rested too much over the winter," he said this week.
Last year's absence of some of the top rowers opened the door for new talent. And the thought of sharper competition for team places pleases Richardson.
"This is an important year because of the return [of the Olympians] . . . and they may not all make it back into the team," he said. "In fact, I don't think they all will. And that's healthy, too.
"The young athletes who've been given a chance last year are not going to just stand up and say, `Well, have your seat back'.
"I think it's a fair bet to say there are quite a few of them [Olympians] right now who won't make it into the team this year. And that's because they didn't work hard enough."
Richardson sees Australia's strength in men's heavyweight sweep events, with the Oarsome Foursome and the probable return of the Atlanta silver medallists Robert Scott and David Weightman in the coxless pairs.
The women's sweep team was young in Atlanta but will be hitting optimum age in Sydney.
In sculling, 25-year-old Victorian Gina Douglas is a name to watch after her easy victory in the singles at the nationals.
Hamish Karrasch is young at 22 but promising in the lightweight sculls, while Queensland's Free brothers, Duncan and Marcus, are also excellent prospects.
All Olympic sports must set specific medal targets for Sydney. It's part of the requirement for funding and other assistance from the Sport Commission, Australian Olympic Committee and the Australian Institute of Sport.
But the magic numbers, the hypothetical golds, silvers and bronzes, are something that Richardson refuses to divulge.
"I don't want people to focus on the results," he said. "I want them to focus on what they're doing now, and getting better now. And I reckon if we do today the best job we can, and tomorrow the best job we can, the results will take care of themselves.
"In this room," he said, gazing around at his high-performance manager, Matt Draper, and Rowing Australia's CEO, Darren Peters, "we can focus on what we think we can do in 2000. But I don't want the coaches to do that and I don't want the athletes to do that because 2000 is still a long, long way away."
© 1998 Sydney Morning Herald
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