133. Harry Mahon
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THE SPORT OF ROWING 133. Harry Mahon New Zealand 1982-84 – Xeno Müller – Rob Waddell – Greg Searle – Great Britain 2000 Peter Spurrier Harry Mahon The Age of Enlightenment was marked Mahon,6425 who worked his magic on four by the free flow of ideas across borders and continents. the emergence of coaches able to approach rowing technique with a fresh set of eyes. 6425 For Americans, Mahon rhymes with “Ron” One such man was the late Harold Thomas with a satisfied “ah” sound, as in “mahn.” As spoken by Brits, Aussies and Kiwis, you might also detect perhaps the hint on of an “r” sound before the “n.” “Harry might be quietly amused 1786 THE AGE OF ENLIGHTENMENT According to his 2001 obituaries in invincible East German crew and only London‟s The Times, The Guardian and narrowly missed the Gold Medal.”6431 The Independent, Mahon was born in Tony Brook, bow-seat on the 1982 New Wanganui on the North Island of New Zealand World Champion Eight: “In 1979, Zealand in 1942. His uncle and grandfather his under-23 NZ Colts eight took shape, and had been rowers, and Harry joined the local many of this crew rowed in his later World rowing club at an early age. He studied Champion eights.”6432 geography at Victoria University.6426 Quarrell: “In 1981, Mahon took charge Journalist Rachell Quarrell: “He of the New Zealand national men‟s played rugby and rowed as a lightweight in eight,”6433 this in a country used to school and college.”6427 improbable success in rowing , thanks to his After graduation, he moved to the small famous predecessor, Rusty Robertson.6434 North Island town of Hamilton to teach geography at Melville High School, a state- New Zealand Men funded day school. He soon joined the newly founded Waikato Rowing Club. Tony Popplewell, a member of the In 1966, Mahon began coaching 1964 New Zealand Eight: “I was the students from Melville and from nearby manager for the NZ team when Harry came Fairfield College. Harry soon transformed on stream as coach of the very successful Waikato R.C. into “one of the most 6428 Colts eights in 1979 and 1980, and then after successful clubs in the country.” the eight that year failed to qualify for the British Olympic Champion rower final at the World Championships in Munich Martin Cross: “He left New Zealand in in 1981, Harry was moved up to Coaching 1969 for a geography and environmental Coordinator. studies teaching post at Ridley College [in “A big learning experience for Harry St. Catharines, Ontario], Canada. He was 6435 6429 and for the crew.” there for five years,” taking a lightweight Dudley Storey:6436 “I had been thrown coxless-four to the 1974 World Champion- 6430 in the deep end in „82 as team manager, and ships, after which he returned to New I didn‟t know Harry very well at all. The Zealand. year before for the first time in sixteen The Times of London: “[Mahon] came years, New Zealand had not made the A to national prominence at the World final in the men‟s eights, and I was Championships in Amsterdam in 1977 mouthing off, saying stuff like, „All the when, in a David and Goliath struggle, his work that we did in the „60s, you guys have unrated coxless-four took on an apparently stuffed it all up,‟ that sort of thing, and I was able to give a lot of this to Harry, and he today at any difficulty in the pronunciation of his listened to a fair bit of it and very seldom name.” – Mark A. Shuttleworth, South Africa did he ever argue with anything I had to say. 6426 Obituary, The Guardian, May 24, 2001 “I was really only the manager, but I had 6427 Rachel Quarrell, Obituary, The Independent a lot of input into what he was saying and of London, May 25, 2001 6428 Obituary: Harry Mahon - Rowing coach who trained the victorious British VIII at last year‟s 6431 The Times of London, op cit. Olympics in Sydney, The Times of London, May 6432 Brook, personal correspondence, 2008 24, 2001 6433 Quarrell, op cit. 6429 Cross, p. 47 6434 See Chapter 120. 6430 Mary Stevens, Magic Mahon Harry, Regatta 6435 Popplewell, personal correspondence, 2008 Magazine, May, 2001, p. 15 6436 See Chapter 120. 1787 THE SPORT OF ROWING what he was doing. Some of it he did “„Of course it was. It‟s what it‟s all reluctantly, and some of it he took on board. about!‟ “Prior to us leaving New Zealand, I had “„Well, Harry‟s chewed our ears, and the whole schedule from the first day we he‟s told us we‟re a bloody disgrace to the started rowing, right through to coming back bloody New Zealand blazer and all sorts of on the plane, and of course we called it an stuff.‟ Entebbe Raid, because we were really only “And I thought bug this, so I grabbed there a month, because we didn‟t have the Harry, dragged him into the dining room, sat money, so in „82 I had all these things laid him down and said, „We had an arrangement out. One of the things I had in there was a before we left New Zealand that this was big party a fortnight out from the heats. „If what we were going to do. You cannot you‟re going to get drunk, that‟s the only change the bloody rules half-way through, chance you have to do it.‟ not without giving people advance notice, so “I went and found this place right up in the best thing you can do, Harry Mahon, is the bloody hills somewhere above the to get off your ass, get across to those two Ägerisee, away from everybody so the guys guys particularly but the whole eight could make as much noise as they liked. If generally, and apologise!‟ they got drunk, I‟d drive them back, and of “And he did. Harry was man enough to course it was something for the people to say, „I did make a mistake. We did say we look forward to as well. were going to do this. I‟m sorry.‟ “„Time out just for us! Don‟t have to do “They won the race right there and then, nothin‟ for Dud, nothin‟ for Harry.‟ a fortnight before the man even said go.”6437 “So up we go. A few of them got drunk. Most of them didn‟t, but they all came back. The 1982 World Championship Two of the boys got back about 5 o‟clock in the morning, and those two actually needed Cross: “In 1982 and 1983, I watched to do this. One wanted to fight all the time, from the sidelines as his eights took the but he also was the best racer that we had. World title by storm. It wasn‟t the fact that “Harry, for some reason or other, got they won. It was the way they did it, quite livid about this. Seven o‟clock comes, moving with deceptive ease.”6438 and everybody‟s out of bed. The Mahon: “The heat draw was good, arrangement had been, „You can go and get facing the 1981 World Champion, Russia, pissed, boy, but you had better be there at 7 Czechoslovakia (who had won at Grünau) o‟clock the next morning.‟ Sure enough, and France. The crew had a real everybody was . in various states of confidence-boosting row – being able to „sit‟ disrepair, but they were there. Harry takes with the pace, move decisively to take a them out on the water and gives them a hard length lead, and be able to „cruise for the last workout and also gives them a bit of a part – but still record a similar time to the dressing down. He thought they shouldn‟t other heat winner, East Germany. A be doing this and should be doing that. controlled, exacting display of rowing which “I didn‟t know anything about this demolished the previous champions, because I was back recovering m‟self. The guys come back after the row and say to me, „Oh, bloody Harry has given us a chew out this morning. We thought this was all part of the plan.‟ 6437 Storey, personal conversation, 2010 6438 Cross, p. 47 1788 THE AGE OF ENLIGHTENMENT FISA 1982 Video United States Men’s Eight 1982 World Fourth Place, Rotsee 5 John Terwilliger 6‟5” 195cm 201lb. 91kg 0°, +35° to -15°, 0-6, 0-9, 5-10, Modern Orthodox Kernschlag Tight shoulders, explosive entry, rebound, then second effort to the release. suggesting an exciting prospect for the necks as it was all happening off the final.”6439 footstretcher with the big leg push. Brook: “People always said you could “There was good compression at the recognize instantly a Harry Mahon-coached front stop, but our bodies were upright. We boat by how together the crew looked when were not the strongest crew in the final, but working on the drive and then how our style was effective because there was no leisurely and relaxed they seemed on the skying and no missed water at the catch as recovery, whatever the rating. the blades and feet locked with the water. “Contrast the conflicting styles of the “See the legs go down together, U.S. crew and the New Zealand eight in explosive off the footstretcher [my 1982, the USA with a pronounced shoulder emphasis].”6440 snatch at the catch, tension in the shoulders, neck and face, working so hard on the drive In fact, it was the American crew who and on the recovery.