INTERNATIONAL ROWING TURNS PROFESSIONAL Just as in Tokyo two years earlier, Spero and Ivanov were placed in the same heat, the Soviet in Lane 3 and the American in Lane 6. Again Spero led across the 1,500 meter line, this time by a length. Again, Ivanov attacked, frequently looking across the course to see how much ground he was making up. Again the answer was: Not much, not enough. The New York Times: “Spero had a slight lead with 45 meters to go when the Soviet star, tired after a long sprint, gave up the chase. Spero won by 2½ lengths in 7:24.87 for the 2,000 meter on Bled Lake.”3832 The other heat winners were Achim Hill of GDR and Niels Secher of Denmark. Ivanov qualified for the final the following day through the repêchages along with 1965 European Champion Jochen Meißner3833 of FRG and 1965 Bronze Medalist Jan Wienese3834 of the Netherlands. In the final, Spero took the lead in the third 500 and came home open water ahead of Meißner with Wienese another half- length back. The rest were far behind with Ivanov paddling in sixth. Spero: “When I crossed that line, I was elated, of course. ‘Hot damn, I’m the World Champion!’ “And then the next thing, the next thing I thought about was, ‘I don’t have to row anymore – I’m not going to row any more. I’m going to finish my thesis!” Community of Scullers Laura: “Dad still sees many of his former opponents at friendly reunions.”3835 Spero: “In Tokyo, I sort of knew Robert Groen3836 from Netherlands who 3832 Spero Advances in World Rowing, The New York Times, September 9, 1966 3833 See Chapter 80. 3834 Ibid. 3835 Laura Spero, op. cit. beat me at the 1964 European Championships, and I was getting to know Gottfried Kottman from Switzerland and Murray Watkinson of New Zealand. They were really good guys. “Kottman [Belvoir Ruderclub Zürich], who won the Bronze in Tokyo, had been Swiss champion for a long time, 3837 and he was considered in his country to sort of be a god. He was the best rower in Switzerland until Martin Studach and Melch Bürgin [Grasshopper Zürich, European Champion Double in 1965 and 1967, World Champion in 1966] came along, and he was their mentor. “Gott was just a fantastic guy. He was an officer in the Swiss sort-of Navy Seals thing. They have a small military, but it’s very good. About three months after his Bronze Medal in ‘64, he was leading some kind of training exercise, and he drowned! “It was considered impossible that he could die. He was that sort of figure in Switzerland. “Melch and Martin were also very good friends of mine. Martin died in 2007. He was rowing in a double with a guy who had married his former wife. They were good rowing buddies, and he had a heart attack and died on the water. I miss him. “I never met Achim Hill, the East German, but Ivanov, as I think you already know, could be a pretty surly and difficult person, especially to his competitors.”3838 Laura: “Ivanov was always remote. My father saw him only once more, at a gathering of World Champions in 1989.”3839 3836 See Chapter 80. 3837 He also won European Gold in the coxed- pairs in 1954 and 1955, European Silver in the coxed-pairs in 1956, European Bronze in the coxed-fours in 1957 and in the coxed-pairs in 1958, the Silver Goblets at Henley in 1958, European Gold in the coxless-fours in 1959 and the Diamond Sculls in 1963. 3838 Spero, personal conversation, 2009 3839 Laura Spero, op. cit. 1055
