THE WORLD COMES FULL CIRCLE Lamont said he expected [Canadian stroke- seat Jeff] Powell and his teammates to come out of the gate ‘ferocious’ [in the final] after losing earlier this week to the U.S., the team’s first loss in more than two years. “‘I think they are pretty angry about the Americans beating them in the heat. I think they are going to have the race of their lives.’ “‘Losing to the U.S. was about the worst scenario the team could face,’ Powell told The Sun following their heat loss. “‘We hate losing, but we hate losing to them even more,’ Powell said. ‘It stuck with us. And we’re not going to let it go, I don’t think.’”8307 In the final, Canada came off the line with the field, as they had the previous two years. As the American Eight gradually inched out to a deck lead in the first 500, the Canadians remained basically tied for sec- ond with Germany and Australia. Germany soon lost a deck, but Canada and Australia crossed the 1,000 essentially dead even. Trouble was that the U.S. had pulled out to a length. It was America in- stead of Canada who owned the second 500. In the third 500, Canada gradually lost half a length to Australia and a surging Netherlands. Then the bleeding became a hemorrhage, a seat every four or five strokes . . . and then the wheels came off entirely, and they limped over the line a distant fifth, three lengths out of first. 1 USA 2 NED 3 AUS 4 GER 5 CAN 6 FRA 5:42.48 5:43.75 5:45.38 5:49.43 5:51.66 5:53.31 Of course, a careful examination of row- ing history has clearly shown how common it is for a clear favorite to lose the Olympic 8307 Dean Pritchard, Rowing for Oly Gold, The Winnipeg Sun, August 22, 2004 eights, but each time the participants and their supporters cry out in surprise for an explanation. The Aftermath In 2004, there was no shortage of opin- ions and theories. Mark Hunter,8308 member of the Brit- ish Lightweight Men’s Coxless-Four in Ath- ens: “The Canadians lost to the Americans by only a small margin in the heat and then went and got absolutely torn apart in the final because they tried to change too much! “I spoke to one of the guys in the eight, and he said instead of them trying to go half a canvas faster, they tried to go a length faster, and they just self-destructed by doing that.”8309 Ben Rutledge in the 3-seat took person- al responsibility. Rutledge: “I panicked. I may have pushed too hard too early. I’ve never done something like that before. I just couldn’t move. You hear the coxswain yelling, you hear your teammates. It’s tough.”8310 Andrew Hoskins: “As Ben started to come out of [rhythm] . . . there’s absolutely no way we could continue to go faster. I’m not sure what happened to Ben. I know Ben gave his all, he always does. I’m proud of the guy.”8311 Spracklen: “It’s a case of not perform- ing and choosing the wrong time to do it. It was a shock. The hype, the pressure, it gets to an athlete. “If one athlete becomes afraid, the load is carried by the other seven people. In a panic situation, people behave differently, don’t they?”8312 8308 See Chapter 144. 8309 Hunter, personal conversation, 2009 8310 Qtd. by Rob Longley, Drowning in disaster, Toronto Sun, August 23, 2004 8311 Ibid. 8312 Ibid. 2335
