THE SPORT OF ROWING highly trained American Olympic eight in history up to that time. Historian Tom Mendenhall used the 1956 Olympics to survey the state of international technique at mid-century. “At Wendouree, a host of techniques were on display, some self-taught, others patently evolved out of a rowing textbook. “Insofar as the latter have been traditionally English, many of the techniques reflected the confusion in English rowing over the last forty years – [English] Orthodoxy at war with the more radical ideas of Steve Fairbairn. “Thus, the Americans could see some long swings forward from the hips on the recovery and straight backs taking the catch, but most of the crews had ‘gone Fairbairn,’ sometimes with a vengeance, as they hit the water with a running slide, rowing light, and crouched over their oars at the finish. “More often than not, the compromises were unhappy or exaggerated, with the drive coming on before the blade was locked up, an exhausting layback and a useless gather on the slide forward.2645”2646 “The Russians2647 were the most unorthodox. They appeared to concentrate on achieving a very hard catch from twelve to eighteen inches above the water, taking it mostly with the arms and shoulders. Their slide movement was the reverse of the accepted practice; they stopped on the back chocks and came very fast to the front chocks. In taking their catch so far off the water, they seemed to waste some of their leg drive pushing the oar through the air. Frequently, the blade was past the rigger when it took the water. They could produce considerable pace, and in calm conditions their boat ran well, but their style seemed quite unsuited to headwind conditions. 2645 See Chapter 20. 2646 Mendenhall, op. cit., p. 19 2647 See Chapter 79. “They trained extremely hard and were very fit, but spent a lot of time training over the last 500 metres in calm water.”2648 “The Japanese rowed in an unusual boat which was nearly twelve feet shorter than the normal shell. A quick, short stroke characterized their work, usually at a rate of 38 strokes to the minute, with occasional spurts to 50. They raced impressively, but, being the lightest crew by over twenty pounds per man, they had little chance in the headwind conditions.”2649 “By contrast, it was noteworthy, and indeed prophetic, that Australia, University of British Columbia and Sweden (under the tutelage of Gus Eriksen) were clearly rowing in the American technique – a quick entry with no water missed, a hard, coordinated drive to a comfortable finish, and a rounded recovery. “To find their rowing so universally admired inevitably helped to produce a certain satisfaction, if not overconfidence, among the Americans.”2650 As the heats approached, “the older, more experienced club oarsmen from Down Under, as heavy as Yale and definitely at the top of their form after their recent victories in the Australian Championships”2651 were quickly perceived as the Americans’ strongest competition, and there was a considerable amount of friendly “head games” going on from both sides as athletes got to know each other better. “Yale soon learned to give as good as they got, and the time trials at Derby became faster with every retelling.”2652 2648 Australian Amateur Rowing Council, Appendix 111 2649 British Olympic Association, p. 54 2650 Mendenhall, op. cit. 2651 Ibid, p. 20 2652 Ibid. 728
