INTERNATIONAL ROWING TURNS PROFESSIONAL four seconds, ten seconds inside the Bosbaan record.”3147 Second in the Europeans had been the West German Pair of Michael Schwann 6’2” 187cm 192lb. 87kg and Wolfgang Hottenrott 6’4” 193cm 216lb. 98kg. They outweighed the Dutch Pair by an average of 45lb. or 20kg per man! Hottenrott would later win Gold Medals as a member of the 1967 and 1968 Ratzeburg Eights. On the Toda Bashi course two months later, the Germans had drawn the least favorable Lane 1. As the coxless-pairs race continued, the water calmed in the second half of the course, and the Finns not unexpectedly fell to the rear during the third 500. Using their formidable size and strength, the Germans powered into contention during the middle 1,000 and pushed past the Dutch into second with just under 500 to go. With 300 to go, they were still a length behind Canada but half a length up on the Dutch. At this point, Nereus took the rating up above 40 and made its bid for Gold, just as they had on the Bosbaan. They fell short of Canada by only a seat! Germany, its spirit broken, stroked it in more than a length back. This Olympic win by two Canadian athletes who had failed to make their eight, the team’s priority boat, rankled many at the time. crew here is a pair from the University of British Columbia. The Seattle Times: “The most surprising It came along as alternates for the Canadian Eight. For laughs, they shipped along a pair-oar shell borrowed from the University of Washington.”3148 3147 Webb and Cooke Surpass British Rowing Hopes, The Times of London, August 10, 1964 3148 Georg N. Meyers, Flu hits Lake Washington Crew, The Seattle Times, October 13, 1964 “The biggest – and narrowest – upset was by George Hungerford and Roger Jackson. It wasn’t easy. In the last 100 meters, they nearly squandered a length lead over the Netherlands. It looked like a dead heat, but the Canadians won by .46 seconds – eight feet.”3149 Rowing: “This was probably the most controversial event of the Regatta as the crosswind gave complete shelter to Lane 6 and progressively less to the others. Nevertheless, it should be pointed out that Canada did the fastest time in the heats. Germany’s performance in finishing third from Lane 1 deserves special mention.”3150 Single After the coxless-pairs, Olympic officials put a short hold on the racing, and fortunately the wind switched direction. For the singles held at 4:05PM after a 20-minute delay, the 5.3 mps wind was coming straight down the course from the east. In both 1963 and 1964, the Koninklijke Holland Beker Singles Champion had been Rob Groen, a Dutch college student from Aegir Groningen3151 who was coached by Henk van der Meer.3152 Jan Wienese: “In 1956, Rob Groen and I rowed in competition on the River Amstel when he was 18 and I was a 15-year-old junior. He won.”3153 The Times of London: “[At the 1964 European Championships on the Bosbaan in Amsterdam, after the win by Veenemans and Blaisse in the coxless-pairs (see above),] it looked like the Netherlands might win again in the single sculls, but it was not to be. Switzerland set the [initial] pace, 3149 Georg N. Meyers, Vesper, Seattle Oarsmen Win, The Seattle Times, October 16, 1964 3150 Rowing, Dec 1964 / Jan 1965, p. 7 3151 Wienese, personal correspondence, 2009 3152 Rentmeester, personal correspondence, 2010 3153 Wienese, op. cit. 883
