THE SPORT OF ROWING Alain Guierre 1968 Olympic Men’s Eights Final Xochimilco Top to bottom: NZL, CZE, AUS, FRG, USA, URS The U.S. crossed the 1,500 in fifth place, open water behind the Kiwis and West Germans. Czechoslovakia and the U.S. were closely bunched behind the Kiwis. Interestingly, the eventual two top crews, West Germany and Australia, brought up the rear, a couple of seats down. Canning: “I remember how our strong finish in the repêchage changed how the New Zealanders rowed the final. They decided to push hard early in the final to make sure they were well ahead of the fast- finishing crews. They got a length on everybody but paid the price later, fading out of the medals to fourth. “In 1972, they went out hard again and got a length, but they held it to win the Gold4741.”4742 Dave Higgins: “We busted our asses, but we were spent. Halfway through there was just nothing there.”4743 Steve Brooks: “The final really felt flat from the start, I thought. We were in decent 4741 See Chapter 120. 4742 Canning, personal conversation, 2008 4743 Higgins, qtd. by Zang, p. 129 position in the middle of the race, but we just didn’t have it in the last part. “Everyone had the altitude problem, and there was no question that the way you felt after the race was not like anything else I had ever experienced . . . to the point that it was difficult to lift my legs out of the boat. “I think it was sort of a cumulative thing, and we were just not as fast as the other guys that day.”4744 As the field crossed the 1,500 meter mark, New Zealand were about to surrender the lead to Ratzeburg. The Aussies and Soviets were four and seven seats down respectively, locked in a struggle that would last the rest of the race. The U.S. was next across the 1,500, a length-plus down on Ratzeburg, and a quarter-length up on the Czechs. In the last 500, the Kiwis lost half a length and the Americans lost a length and a half to the leader as the other crews more or less maintained their relative positions. 4744 S. Brooks, op. cit. 1316
