THE AGE OF ENLIGHTENMENT and what to work on technically. This could well have been overdone in my early years and come across negatively to Jim Clark when he was listening in the Amsterdam dressing room on that occasion. But a pre- race talk is given the night before the race and definitely not in a dressing room with other athletes present.”6112 Baillieu: “Our race plan, which was always basically the same, was that however far we might have been behind the East Germans in the first half, we needed to be overlapping them at 1,500. It was a relatively simple principle, and by and large it worked as long as we could get amongst them. “Our perception was that we would then change a gear which they did not have, and in the race itself that’s exactly what happened. We were probably two lengths down before 1,000. We were a length down at 1,500, and within 100 meters we were on their bows, and then we rowed right away from them. So in that sense, it was very satisfactory. The Russians came through to take Bronze. I think the West Germans were fourth, if I remember, and I think Jimmy Dietz6113 was fifth, maybe?”6114 Baillieu and Hart’s 1977 Doubles Gold Medal was Britain’s first FISA championship since Bushnell and Burnell in 1948.6115 After 1977: Thor Nilsen Spracklen: “Chris Baillieu had befriended the Hansens’ coach, Thor Nilsen,6116 whom he asked for advice on 6112 Spracklen, op. cit. 6113 rowing with 1974 World Lightweight Singles Champion, Bill Belden. See Chapter 139. 6114 Baillieu, op. cit. 6115 See Chapter 77. 6116 See Chapter 121. training. Ironically, Thor’s programme was based on long distances and far removed from their short, sharp, intensive programmes written by Bob Janoušek, and in the months that followed, Baillieu and Hart sculled many more miles. Their time on the water in 1977/8 was double what they were doing through 1976/7 winter.”6117 Baillieu: “If you’re seeking to be the best in the world, you have to be constantly improving. I’m extremely fond of Mike, and we’re the first Gold Medal he ever won as a coach, and to this day we’re very, very close, but like all things, you graduate. You move on, and you have to be looking for more, and it’s unusual for these relationships to last for more than a few years. “I was always looking for how do you find an edge, so by ‘77-’78 we were beginning to look at what Thor Nilsen had been doing with the Norwegians.6118 What were they doing that we weren’t? Okay, they were bigger and stronger, but there were some interesting things they were doing technically and also training tips.”6119 Spracklen: “The Hansens returned to competition in 1978. They had always beaten the British by taking an early lead, which gave them control of the race despite a late British charge. Hart and Baillieu were not powerful athletes. They were not fast to 500m and relied on their strong last 500m to the finish. “Before the Lucerne Regatta, we spent time on starting faster, and I also explained the benefit of pushing at one minute into the race. Lucerne at that time was a two-day regatta with separate events each day. In the Saturday final, the Brits had a lead at 500m which they held to the finish. It was the one and only time the British Double beat the Norwegians, who were clearly surprised by the unusually fast British start. 6117 Spracklen, op. cit. 6118 See Chapter 121. 6119 Baillieu, op. cit. 1709
