THE SPORT OF ROWING but sometimes he wasn’t; John Nunn, 26, the big ex-Cornellian, last year’s Pan Am Silver Medalist from Long Beach Rowing Association; his LBRA clubmate John Van Blom, a classic young stylist of great promise, just 21 years of age, currently the National Dash Champion; and Tom McKibbon, a hoary, old sweep veteran, aged 29, who as a virtual novice sculler was the surprise of the season. Also in contention was San Diego’s giant Jim Storm, at 6’7” the biggest man in the race and an Olympic Silver Medalist in the doubles at Tokyo3924.”3925 The Final Maher, Van Blom and McKibbon were the only favorites to survive the heats, repêchages and semi-finals and advance to the final. Rowing News: “As they passed the 1,000 meter mark, [McKibbon and Van Blom] had pulled out on the field in their own private race. It was a dual reminiscent of Van Blom’s narrow loss to Nunn last year [1967] in the Pan Am Trials. But this time he held on to win by about three feet in a sensational wind-assisted 6:59.4. Van Blom is a junior at Long Beach State. McKibbon teaches at the same school.”3926 McKibbon: “The whole regatta they had used only Lanes 1 through 5 because of the crosswinds. In the final, they put me in Lane 6. “I was still leading with 300 meters to go, but John in Lane 3 caught me at the line.”3927 Van Blom: “The reason there was no one racing in Lane 6 prior to the final was 3924 See Chapter 87. 3925 Olympic Trials, Rowing News, October 1968, p. 4 3926 Olympic Trials, Rowing News, October 1968, p. 4 3927 McKibbon, op. cit. Richard Krahenbuhl LBRA 1959-1977 John Van Blom 1968 Olympic Singles Trials winner The Harvard guys nicknamed John the “Silver Surfer” after the Marvel Comics superhero because there were twenty-five entries in the heats, with fifteen making it to the semi- finals – both multiples of five. It had nothing to do with wind conditions. The races were held in the morning, and you’ve spent enough time in Long Beach, Peter, to know the cross winds don’t come up until the afternoon. “For the semi-finals and the final, the wind was a direct tail. I rowed a 6:59 in the final, and in those days people didn’t row in the vicinity of 7 minutes without favorable conditions, and certainly not with a strong 1082
