AMERICAN ROWING COMES OF AGE the all powerful point in any successful method of boating. “The long stroke without this catch may be to a certain extent wasted energy and prove more tiring upon the men than a somewhat shorter stroke that gets a better grip upon the water at the catch.”1344 Harvard Lehmann brought to Harvard in 1897 unadulterated English Orthodoxy. 1897 Yale-Harvard-Cornell Regatta Program: “The tremendous reach of the Lehmann stroke seems almost an impossibility to a novice. The men are taught to extend the arms to utmost length, and the body is brought forward until the knees appear to be on a level with the ears. The oars are brought into the water with a vicious bite, and the stroke is rowed well through.”1345 This last sentence is a good description of the dichotomy represented by Kernschlag force application. “Vicious bite” versus “rowed well through.” Many crews in history have indeed managed to apply maximal force virtually instantaneously after entry and still managed to carry through the stroke in one continuous motion to the release, but it is not easy to marry the two concepts, and the possibility of a two-part segmented pullthrough is always lurking. “At the finish, the men seem in danger of falling over backwards, and the incline toward the bow of the boat has at least ten degrees more angle than the American swing. The hands are shot out almost mechanically for the reach, and while the position looks ungainly, the results testify to its efficiency. 1344 The Yale-Harvard-Cornell Regatta Program, pp. 27-9 1345 Ibid, p. 53 1346 Ibid. 1347 See Chapter 33. “The intention in such a long reach and late finish is to keep the oar in the water as long as possible with good results. The finish must be hard and strong, but without any jerky motions. Mr. Lehmann says: ‘An eight-oared crew should be coached to get the greatest amount of power with the least amount of exhaustion. “‘While our stroke seems to be exhausting, it is really not. The men, of course, swing the extreme distance on the slide, and the doubling up does not tire the men, as might be imagined. “‘I believe in bringing all the strength of the back, legs and arms possible. Power, form and strength combined will win any race, and to obtain the maximum of these three is the object of the English stroke. The material for crews in this country, as far as I have been able to observe, is just as good as in England. The Yale crew that visited us at Henley was the finest specimen of brawn in the races. It is simply a question of teaching them the correct principles.’”1346 A summary of the styles of the three crews in 1897 points out the differences: Yale: -15°, +40° to -20°, 4-9, 0-5, 5-10 Harvard: -15°, +40° to -45°, 2-10, 0-10, 5-10 Cornell: 0°, +30° to -30°, 4-8, 0-5, 7-10 Body mechanics did show detail but not fundamental differences. The true divide was in force application. While Cornell perhaps hit the water aggressively, as was observed by Crowther,1347 the other two put all their efforts into front-half Kernschlag force application. By contrast, Cornell followed up its entry with a strong effort to the release which sent the boat gliding. 355
