INTERNATIONAL ROWING TURNS PROFESSIONAL myself. Had I used my head a little more, we would have had more swing, but it was the Olympic final, and . . . ”3699 By 250 meters, Lake Washington had fallen more than five seats behind Denmark, Britain and Germany as those three boats fought for second place behind the Netherlands, leading from Lane 6. Ted Nash’s second Olympic Gold Medal was already lost. Nash: “At 300 gone, we finally got the timing together and started to move.”3700 For the next 1,700 meters, Ted and his teammates remained agonizingly close to Denmark, losing another four seats in the second 250, then holding them in the second 500, only to fall open water behind in the third 500 before gaining back three seats in the final sprint. The Danes This was a very determined Danish boat from Roforeningen Kvik in Copenhagen Harbor after what had happened to them in previous two European Championships. Bjørn Borgen Hasløv, stroke-seat: “In Copenhagen 1963, we broke a swivel just before the finish line in the final. Before the accident, we were second in the race after the four from Germany. 1963 European Championships 1 Germannia Düsseldorf 2 Italy 3 France 4 Austria 5 Denmark 6:13.88 6:16.53 6:17.97 6:34.87 7:58.71 “The reason for the break was a combination of material failure, a boat that was too small and a strong tailwind. The next year in Amsterdam, we used a new and better boat.”3701 3699 Nash, personal correspondence, 2005 3700 Ibid. 3701 Hasløv, personal correspondence, 2009 But the luck of the crew from Copenhagen went from bad to worse at the 1964 European Championships, held on the Bosbaan two months before the Tokyo Olympics. The Times of London: “Denmark snatched an early but slender lead in the coxless-fours and hung on to it for 1,500 metres, where they were one second ahead of the holders, Germany, and two seconds ahead of Russia. Then they began a sustained attack which took them to a length up at 1,950 metres. With Gold Medals in their grasp, they caught a crab. If they could have recovered next stroke, they must still have won. But their boat slewed round, and all was lost – by just four-fifths of a second.”3702 1964 European Championships 1 Germannia Düsseldorf 2 Denmark 3 Italy 4 Soviet Union 5 Netherlands 6:15.10 6:15.90 6:17.33 6:18.82 6:29.30 Meanwhile back to the final at Toda Bashi, where it had become a three-boat race for the medals. Italy had never been in it, and two-time European Champion and Olympic heat- winner Germannia Düsseldorf surprisingly faded back during the second 500, as did Netherlands, the early leaders. Great Britain was the wild card. They had started even with Denmark but steadily lost ground to them throughout the middle 1,000, even falling a couple of feet into third place behind the U.S. as the two boats crossed the 1,500 meter mark. Nash: “The Tideway Scullers Four in ‘64 rowed a very aggressive start and a very conservative middle with almost no moves in their race and then almost a mechanical upshift-sprint finish: twenty strokes, twenty strokes, twenty strokes, that kind of a thing, 3702 Webb and Cooke Surpass British Rowing Hopes, The Times of London, August 10, 1964 1013
