THE SPORT OF ROWING John Cooke Stanford Crew Association Coxed-Pair 1956 Olympic Champion, Lake Wendouree Coxswain Curt Seiffert, Stroke Conn Findlay 6’6” 201cm 198lb. 90kg, Bow Dan Ayrault 6’4” 196cm 190lb. 86kg Findlay: -10°, +20° to -25°, 0-9, 0-9, 5-10, ferryman’s finish Ayrault: -10°, +30° to -20°, 0-9, 0-9, 3-10, mild ferryman’s finish Spangled Banner and that they were playing it for us.”3345 Duvall Hecht: “A word must be said about Kurt Seiffert, coxswain of the pair- with. Kurt is a wiry fellow from Stanford who stands six inches over five feet [168cm] and normally weighs 130 pounds [59kg]. The minimum Olympic weight for a coxswain is 110 pounds [50kg], and six weeks before leaving Seattle, Kurt started his tedious and severe dieting. There wasn’t much on him to begin with, and Kurt, like most of us, likes his beefsteak and ice cream, his evening beer or afternoon milkshake. We all ate together at my home. Our training table was a deluxe affair, and Kurt sat uncomplainingly and good humouredly through meal after meal where the horses beefed up and he ate less and less . . . and less. When we left Seattle, he was a bare 113 pounds [51kg]. And never a 3345 http://wiki.prov.vic.gov.au/index.php /Rowing_Pair_Oar_With_Cox_1956-11-27 souring of disposition or a griping note was heard from Kurt.”3346 Seiffert: “[After the final,] I celebrated by eating and eating and eating. The next day I weighed 117 and was back to my normal 128 within a couple of weeks.”3347 Their coach, Stan Pocock: “I did not get to go to Australia for the Games. Somebody had to run the shop, and Dad (being as he was there as rigger for the team) was able to take them under his wing. My only awareness as to what went on was through the daily letters that he sent me and then the telegram I received: FIVE GOLD, THANKS A LOT signed by the five men of the two pairs. 3346 Duvall Hecht, The Saga of the Pairs-With and -Without Coxswain, Rowing News, December 1956, p. 16 3347 http://wiki.prov.vic.gov.au/index.php /Rowing_Pair_Oar_With_Cox_1956-11-27 928
