THE SPORT OF ROWING FISA 1994 Video FISA 1995 Video Jennifer Dore The video frames above disclose a significant evolution in Dore’s technique. Knee angles were about 100° in all cases, but in 1994 and 1995 the back angle had already reached -10°, while in 1996, the back angle was still only +15. Even in Dore, the model GDR rower on the squad, the coordination of leg drive and back swing had shifted toward leg domination in the 1996 Olympic year. others. The distinction between smooth Schubschlag, smooth Kernschlag and segmented Kernschlag is actually a continuum, and when more than one of these approaches are represented in an eight, there can be an ebb and flow of influence. When more individuals evolve to the segmented- force extreme of explode, rebound and recommit, the boat can take on a split personality. When the boat is rowing steady state, it might swing and flow, but when the pressure and/or the tension rises, the pounders can start to dominate. Kakela: “Leading up to the Olympics, we would have great pieces, flying pieces, and then we would be dog slow, and there was no explanation. There was nothing we could pinpoint, but when we got to Atlanta, we bobbled in the first part of the week in the heats and had to go to the reps, and when we actually had to work in the reps to make it to the final, that just totally fed into our inconsistent training.”8054 8054 Kakela, op. cit. At the 1996 Olympics, where pressure and tension were at their maximum, the amount of work they were doing down the course was clearly written on every face, but the boat was not responding in kind. Fuller: “I don’t recall there ever being a shift in technique. The boat wasn’t going as fast as it should have, so obviously in some way it must have manifested itself technically on the water, but you have to remember that Hartmut coached the Four in ‘95, and he coached the Eight in ‘95. He coached both the Gold Medal-winning crews in ‘95, and it wasn’t like he said, ‘Okay, the Four, you guys row a long, smooth, connected stroke, and the Eight, you muscle it down the course.’ “I don’t remember any actual change in what Hartmut’s ideal power curve was. I’m not saying there wasn’t evolution. Maybe it was the athletes. Maybe it was our body types. The one consistent thing I remember FISA 1996 Video 2248