INTERNATIONAL ROWING TURNS PROFESSIONAL Lockyer’s humility. All of my subsequent coaching was to emulate Bill.”3917 Inspirations With no other national or international champion rowers in the area to act as role models, Long Beach locals looked elsewhere for inspiration. The first for both John Van Blom and Tom McKibbon had been Sy Cromwell at the 1964 Olympic Trials, but it didn’t end there. McKibbon: “I’m a poor reader because I’m dyslexic, but as soon as I knew I was going to be in this sport, I read all the technical stuff I could get my hands on. I went to the library. I searched it out. I read all the greats, every book that was ever written on rowing. A lot of what was in Fairbairn3918 was what I ended up rowing and coaching. “I called people in different places and asked them to loan me their library, and I interviewed every great coach any time I could. I was sponging on everybody. “There used to be a sign up at the boathouse at Loyola, and it said something like, ‘Don’t be afraid to take the advice that others have shunned. It may hold the key to your success.’ I was always anxious to ask all of the great people what they did. “In ‘68, John and I were at the Koninklijke Holland Beker Regatta3919 as LBRA, and we were staying at the Kooyk Hotel, which was a narrow spiral staircase kind of place, but it was fun. It was my first time to Europe, and we used to ride out to the Bosbaan on the back of an old flatbed truck with the East Germans3920 because they were staying at the same hotel. “So it was just John and I and this whole conglomerate of East German men scullers 3917 McKibbon, op. cit. 3918 See Chapter 14 ff. 3919 See Chapter 72. 3920 See Chapter 119. and sweepers, and that’s where we met Uli Schmied,3921 on the back of that truck. “We met and became really good friends with an East German doctor as well, and he taught us a lot of things about training. “I also learned a lot of things from Rusty Robertson.3922 In 1967, we were in Philadelphia after the Worlds. The New Zealand team was going to continue through Los Angeles on their way home, so Conn Findlay said, ‘Oh, Tom can hook you up with what to do in L.A,’ and I said, ‘Sure, I’ll meet you guys at the airport.’ “So my wife Jan and I took our little Volkswagen minibus, and we went down and packed these guys in until we had to get more air in the tires. We took them to Disneyland, and we took them to Knott’s Berry Farm. Jan went with the team, and they did all the rides, while I just hung on Rusty Robertson. “What a great guy! He taught me so many good things, and from then on we were really good friends.”3923 1968 Olympic Singles Trials McKibbon and Van Blom trained side by side in their singles prior to the 1968 Olympic Trials. Rowing News: “The Olympic Singles Trials figured to be a wide open, unpredictable rat race with half a dozen people in a field of twenty-five scullers rating serious consideration. The chief contenders, not necessarily in order, figured to be: Bill Maher, 22, the unpredictable two-time National Champion from Detroit B.C., who had demonstrated that he could beat any U.S. sculler – when he was right, 3921 6’2” 187cm 185lb. 84kg, SC Berlin-Grünau, 1972 and 1976 Men’s Doubles Olympic Bronze Medalist. 3922 See Chapter 120. 3923 McKibbon, op. cit. 1081
