THE AGE OF ENLIGHTENMENT different and very personal and real for me.”6712 Cross: “Rather than getting him to slam his legs down as quickly as he could in a [sweep] boat, Harry emphasized that Greg needed to move more sympathetically with the pace of the boat. It was all about taking more time to feel connected and learning how to use his back as a lever, pulling with his lateral muscles rather than wrenching with his shoulders and arms.”6713 Searle’s force curve typified the Mahon approach, a Schubschlag parabola with smooth transitions and no rough spots. The curve shown was measured on a Rowperfect rowing simulator by Cas Rekers at the regatta site of the 1997 World Champion- ships. In his first year of serious sculling, Greg Searle, already the world record holder on the Concept2 ergometer, “was moving beautifully, completely at one with the boat, unhurried, connected and fast.”6714 Searle: “Harry made everything effortless and enjoyable, and when I rowed like that, it was pretty special. I keep a diary of everything he said to me. I still try [April, 2001], and I hope I am succeeding, to row in a way that he would teach.”6715 Greg won Bronze on Lac d’Aiguebelette in 1997 and set his sights on the 2000 Olympics. The Guardian: “Greg Searle, the 1992 Olympic Coxed-Pairs Gold Medallist, despite eventually failing to become Britain’s single sculler in Sydney, said that Mahon revolutionised his technique and mental approach: ‘He inspired me whenever he coached me, and the way he dealt with his illness inspires me still.’”6716 6712 G. Searle, op. cit. 6713 Cross, p. 185 6714 Ibid, p. 187 6715 Qtd. by Stevens, op. cit. 6716 The Guardian, op. cit. Cancer Quarrell: “In 1997, Mahon was given a diagnosis of terminal liver cancer, and months to live. Using a combination of willpower, exercise, chemotherapy and alternative medicine, he fought the encroaching tumour, and for a while halted its progress.”6717 The Guardian: “In 1997, Henley Regatta timed Searle’s races to fit in with Harry’s chemotherapy programme.”6718 Searle: “When it came to his fight with cancer, he was incredibly brave. He would take the treatment without wanting to miss a training session with me. He also seemed prepared to face up to what was happening but be prepared to fight like hell. “I have videos of me sculling with Harry talking. I didn’t realize it at the time when we watched them together, but I think he was actually talking to the camera and not to me to ensure that his words would not be lost. He knew he wouldn’t be here forever. “I can now watch those videos and still capture what he wanted me to do with my technique.”6719 Quarrell: “In 1999, [Harry] decided to run the London Marathon to raise money for the cancer-care units which had helped him, and both Mahon and his helpers were astonished by the response from around the world, as donations poured in.”6720 The Times of London: “The recent verging of reverence in which he was held by oarsmen was only enhanced by the way in which he dealt with the cancer. “Undaunted and lacking in self pity, he kept up a punishing coaching schedule with the Great Britain squad, with Cambridge University and latterly with the Radley College crew. Given only months to live at 6717 Quarrell, op. cit. 6718 The Guardian, op. cit. 6719 G. Searle, op. cit. 6720 Quarrell, op. cit. 1855
