THE SPORT OF ROWING Disaster at Toda Bashi “Phil was 16. The minimum age for Olympic equestrians is 18. “By the time Phil was 18, he had outgrown the saddle. “‘The best equestrians go about 165 pounds,’ Durbrow said. ‘I shot up to about 200 pounds.’ “So in 1960 Durbrow’s ambitions turned to rowing.”3671 Nash: “In the first heat in Tokyo, we just flew off the line and were gone. We were well ahead of Great Britain at the 750- meter mark, and the boat was comfortably flying when Phil coughed and spit blood on and over my right shoulder. “The boat slowed, and we stopped. We came to a complete stop. “Then Phil said, ‘I’m okay. Let’s go.’ “We were screaming by everybody once Ted Nash Collection The 1964 Olympics did Ted Nash and his 1964 teammates no favors. Phil Durbrow, who Nash considered “the strongest man I ever rowed with”3668 and who Dick Lyon said provided their smoothness, ruptured his congested sinuses3669 during their opening Olympic heat on the Toda Bashi course. Stan Pocock: “Durbrow was the original hard-luck kid. A fine horseman, he was selected to train for a previous Olympic Equestrian Team, only to be forced out due to illness.”3670 Meyers: “For experience in 1956, Durbrow entered the Olympic Equestrian Trials. To the embarrassment of America’s finest horsemen, Phil won the over-all three- day event. But Uncle Sam refused to take him to Melbourne. 3668 Nash, personal conversation, 2004 3669 Stowe, p. 150 3670 S. Pocock, p. 202, edited by Durbrow again, but Phil had a second episode of blood loss, and the guys in the bow, who could see his condition, yelled down to me, ‘Phil’s really hurting. Please paddle.’”3672 The Times of London: “The United States Four gained a slight lead at the start and by half way were about half a length to the good. From that point the British Four, rating 37, steadily overhauled the American crew and at the 1,500 metres were a length ahead, after which they were able to ease up a little and won comfortably by nine seconds [6:47.04], in a time which was six seconds faster than that of Denmark [6:51.78] who won the first heat. “They were, however, ten seconds slower than Germany [6:37.83], the winners of the third heat. But the Germans had a hard race all the way against Russia and France, so that if the British crew can 3671 Georg N. Meyers, Hollywood Stuntman, Phil Durbrow’s Dream, The Seattle Times, October 16, 1964 3672 Nash, qtd. by Stowe, p. 150 1006
