Chapter 2 20Th Century

THE SPORT OF ROWING To the readers of www.row2k.com The Amateurs it from you. In addition, if you find any typos in this This is the third installment on row2k of chapter, or if you have any questions, com- my retelling of our American Iliad, the story ments, suggestions, corrections, agreements, of the U.S. men’s scullers of 1984, first told disagreements, additional sources and illu- by David Halberstam in his best-selling strations, etc. please email me at the address book, The Amateurs. below. Your continuing input will be an This draft chapter recounts the events of essential contribution to what has always the spring of 1984. In the coming week, we been intended to be a joint project of the will see the saga to its conclusion from the rowing community, so please contribute. If rowers’ perspectives. you and I end up finally disagreeing on some relevant point or another, I will be The following .pdf is in the format in- thrilled to present both alternatives so the tended for the final printed book. It is from readers can decide for themselves. the fourth and final volume. All my contact info is at my website. I will also be at the World Rowing Coaches’ I need you! Conference in London in January. Or you can email me anytime at: I have results and TV footage of the Sunday finals in Lucerne in 1984, but I am [email protected]. still looking for the results of the Saturday Many thanks. heats and finals. If anybody has that infor- mation, I would be most grateful to receive TThhee SSppoorrtt ooff RRoowwiinngg AA CCoommpprreehheennssiivvee HHiissttoorryy bbyy PPeetteerr MMaalllloorryy VVoolluummee IIVV PPlluuss ÇÇaa CChhaannggee ddrraafffttt mmaannuussccrriiippttt OOcctttoobbeerr 22001100 THE SPORT OF ROWING 141. American Iliad 1984 Singles Trials – Sculling Camp – Lucerne Biglow: “After the quad in „83, Harry wasting our time training that way, but later and I figured out that I should go back out to after both our results from the 1984 Games, Seattle and row in a double because it didn‟t he had his sweep rowers doing some of our hurt my back so much. I started rowing with workouts the following year.”6750 Paul Enquist, and we spent the winter working out and running stairs, and it was Purdy: “During the fall of 1983, I great! trained at Harvard. We had fewer organized “Paul is a great friend.”6746 rows with Harry and trained as a group Enquist: “The stairs were near John‟s mostly by ourselves in singles and doubles. home, 192 stairs, very steep with only a I raced at the Head of the Charles in the three-foot landing in the middle. The first championship double with Charlie time I did them with him I was only able to Altekruse. We won and set a course do one flight running. I managed to finish record.”6751 ten by running, then walking and then The Harvard boathouse had been the crawling to the top. My legs were jello for informal center of U.S. men‟s sculling since the next week. This was in early January. the spring of 1983 when Harry Parker “By mid April, two days before leaving accepted the position as Olympic men‟s Seattle for Boston, we both did 20 flights, sculling coach. A group made up mostly of two at a time.”6747 Yale and Harvard graduates coalesced there around Harry, and for those athletes whose While in Seattle, John and Paul again personal lives prevented them from got help from Frank Cunningham.6748 relocating to Cambridge for a year, there Enquist: “It is interesting to read about developed a sense that they were outsiders. the weakness in John‟s legs due to his back Harry‟s personality and coaching style condition. I know we adjusted our 1984 did not discourage this mindset. For twenty winter workouts to accommodate his needs. years, Harry had been known as a coach of “When we trained in the double, I was few words who selected his crews through the timer, so I know the long pieces were six relentless intramural competition, especially minutes on, three off, up to ten or twelve seat racing, and who seemed to rely on the cycles. The quality of the rowing became athletes themselves to resolve issues of very good doing this method. technique. “It is interesting to note that Kris Korzeniowski6749 had told us we were All this was evident during the two- week camp in Tampa, Florida in January, 6746 Biglow, personal conversation, 2008 1984. 6747 Enquist, op cit, 2010 6748 Halberstam, p. 159 6750 Enquist, op cit, 2008 6749 See Chapter 124. 6751 Purdy, op cit. 1926 THE ERA OF POLARIZATION Jim Dietz: “NO boats were rigged Fredy is perhaps one of the greatest properly. The doubles were in a range from rowers ever. A natural lightweight at 5‟11” 155cm to 162cm spreads with varying [180 cm] and 154 lb. [70 kg], Fredy rowed [oarlock angles and distances] through the heavyweights his whole life. pin. The oarsmen themselves agreed upon “After barely losing the 1972 Swiss and rigged these boats after the first week. Olympic Singles Trials to European and “Instead of constant racing and pressure World Doubles Champion Melch of being ranked in a point system, Mr. Bürgin,6755 Fredy was relegated to the Parker should have established a greater sculling spare position. During training in aerobic base with more emphasis on St. Moritz before the Games, Fredy technique. At no time did he ever identify consistently beat Melch in pieces. Just the style he wanted.”6752 before the Munich Games, the stroke of the Purdy: “Following the winter training Swiss straight-pair was hit by a car and session in Tampa, I moved to Long Beach, couldn‟t row. Someone suggested the bow California to train for the rest of the winter. rower move to stroke and Fredy jump into While there, I made frequent trips to the bow seat. Fredy says from the beginning Newport Beach, where I trained with Curtis the boat flew – mostly because of his Fleming. Curtis was a class guy, an incredible technique, honed from years in accomplished sculler and a great friend. Out sculling boats (as is the European way). A of everyone in the Olympic Quad that later week or two later, they won the Silver beat us in the Trials, I was happiest for Medal very unexpectedly. him.”6753 “Fredy Bachman rows like Joe Charlie Altekruse: “I felt like I was a Bouscaren. He glides in the boat and does pretty good quad sculler but not as nothing to check its forward movement. comfortable in a single. After Harry had Huge emphasis on getting hands and back challenged me to take my training more extended quickly on the recovery and seriously,6754 I was determined to become a leaving the seat behind. Also, emphasis on top-tier sculler, and I also wanted an preparing for the catch, blades arching for adventure worthy of postponing my the water and placed in before the catch. education and career. So, after our team trip The catch is a gradual pickup rather than a to Tampa, I went to Switzerland from hard attack, like they do in eights roughly mid-January to mid-April. I [Schubschlag instead of Kernschlag]. planned to return in time to acclimate for the “I trained about twelve times a week, U.S. Singles Trials. including a very little bit of land workouts. “I trained amidst the steam boats on the For the twelve weeks, I averaged over 100 big lake at Luzern and on Lago di Lugano in miles [160 km] a week, which works out to the Ticino (Italian) part of Switzerland. I almost 16 miles [23 km] a day. trained mostly by myself, though sometimes “A typical morning workout for Fredy with the Swiss national sculler, who I and me would be to row a 5-mile piece, consistently beat, and a few times a week either from the small town of Agnuzzo to with Fredy Bachmann. the little statue in Morcote on Lago di Lugano or from the city center in Luzern to Küssnacht on the Vierwaldstättersee, at full 6752 Dietz, memorandum to Men‟s Olympic power at about 28-30. Thirty minutes right Rowing Committee, September, 1984 6753 Purdy, op cit. 6754 See Chapter 140. 6755 See Chapter 87. 1927 THE SPORT OF ROWING Troy but nevertheless was destined by fate to play only a minor role in the epic that would follow. Jim Dietz: “There were four weekends held in Boston [during the early spring of 1984]. The first two consisted of seat racing in quads. The third was for physiological testing in Hanover, New Hampshire, followed by singles racing in Boston. This was the second physiological test held. The first was attended mostly by the Boston- based scullers. The others received notice three days late. “There was little communication outside the Harvard boathouse. Mr. Parker did not attend the testing or the singles racing. He 6757 National Archaeological Museum, Athens did assign heats.” The Mask of Agamemnon Enquist: “Before leaving Seattle in the spring of „84, John and I made a trip to off, no stopping. On the way back we Canada for the weekend. The day before would do shorter pieces. I must have done leaving, the blade broke off one of John‟s this thirty times in those three months in the sculls and we had to make a switch to a set Alps. of different length and size of blades. “I already knew from Tampa that I was “On Saturday we raced Pat Walter and among the „stronger‟ scullers, and I came Bruce Ford at Burnaby Lake over 2000m.

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