Saturday racing

The word that keeps coming to the top of my brain is "momentum." Today's racing saw some spectacular racing and more often than not the battles were won by the crews that seized the momentum at exactly the right time. That's real racing!

A couple of our crews had to race twice today, as the schedule has been compressed. There's a big storm coming tomorrow, so everything has been moved up in order to finish early. The boys's double knew going in they would race twice, but didn't back off at all in their semi. In a close race they got the job done and qualified for the C final. That was some great work and they deserve credit for pushing to their limit and grabbing the highest possible rung on the ladder.

I had a great time following Sophie's race in the single. She raced very intelligently. Knowing she just needed second to qualify for the C final she charged out to a length open water and then sat in front of Zimbabwe all the way down. No sweat. She and I had a chuckle afterwards- the other single in the race was Greece and she apparently only has one gear, because she raced at top speed all the way down. I was on the bike next to her coach who would NOT stop screaming at her, even when she was over three lengths up and clearly going to qualify. Sophie told me she just keep thinking "go ahead, burn it all up now... See ya in the final tomorrow..."

Ryan raced twice today and his coach told me the final was the better of the two pieces. Perhaps he was able to really relax and get into his rhythm. I'm sure he gained a tremendous amount of insight into racing at the elite level this weekend. That his last race was his best means he kept on working at it all the way through. Good man.

The boys' coxed four raced very well. They were a bit stunned by the blazing start of the Serbs, whose strategy of throwing everything humanly possible into the first minute of the race paid off. Our guys rowed well and pushed back, but the Serbs had just enough momentum and confidence to hold it. The US just didn't have enough to come back at them.

The straight four had a similar fate. They just got over powered. The field was very, very competitive and each time a crew moved the others responded. The effect was to drive the pace of the pack up to the point where we couldn't quite follow. I think it was a better row for the guys, but not quite enough to match the leaders.

The boys' pair also raced a gutsy race. When I asked them how it went they conceded that the other guys were simply faster today. No big problems, it was a good row. The South African crew are the top two guys in their country. The same is true of many of the boats in this category. They can row. The US went after it with all their resources, but couldn't find a way to shake them up and grab a spot in the A final. The boys will have a great challenge in the B final tomorrow and it sure is an improvement from our finishing place last year (17th).

The girls' double are also headed to the B final tomorrow. Coach Beutter thought they rowed well. They responded to challenges and stayed within themselves. I know they are fired up for the final, so I'm excited to watch the race.

I was frustrated for the guys in the quad as I watched the race. They were going so hard and throwing everything they could at their competition. At points it must have seemed like trying to chop down a mountain with a feather. The monster guys in the lead boats were unassailable. But as I say, the US boys raced very, very hard and should be proud of their effort.

There are some great interviews and quotes on the world rowing web site. They capture the drama and excitement of the girls' four race very well. It goes without saying that the crew are rockstars and did a phenomenal job. Super aggressive out of the gate and then once they had their lead that sat of the field and waited patiently for someone to try it on. They responded to moves and kept their lead and then simply brought it home. Sounds easier than it was. I suspect the emotions in the boat were the exact opposite to the emotions on the bikes. As a coach, when you see the BIG PRIZE shaping up before your eyes there is a tendency to get pretty wound up. Thoughts like "They could do it" and "Hold on!" and "Almost there!" are going through your mind at a mile a minute. The girls may have known they had it in the bag before the line, but there were some pretty loud exhalations on the shore when the horn sounded. Happy happy happy.

The girls in the pair said they had a good row. It was awfully bouncy out there in lane one to be racing a pair, but they acquitted themselves well. They haven't had the smoothest week of training, but their racing has improved with each race. A great effort to make the A final and compete with the best.

The girls' quad pulled out all the stops. They finished just short of a medal, but with a time that in any other year would have done it. Personal best speed achieved. Great row and great race. Coach was very proud of their accomplishment. One of the Canadian coaches commented to me that he has noticed the American scullers seem to be improving rapidly-- yup!

I know the boys in the eight are disappointed about their result. As I told them: they did what they had to do to get in the race. They improved their start and were a close second in the first few hundred meters. Job done. When the field tried to break away in the second five hundred- a real danger spot for our crew- the guys pushed right back. Crossing the 1000m Italy was in front, but we were dead even with GB and Germany. Job done. We just couldn't keep it going. We ran out of steam, or fell out of rhythm, or maybe a bit of both. That's all it takes. Look at the progression though, over the week, and you'll see a crew that evolved under pressure. Another couple of days and we might have won it. Nothing wrong with the job they did here. It was top work.

A big storm is coming in tomorrow, so I hope we get it all in. Plenty of racing left. Hope you're listening in and following the race tracker. We're almost done!