THE ERA OF POLARIZATION achieve a lifelong dream of representing their country in the greatest spectacle of sport in the world. “I had career plans of attending dental school, which I had delayed a year so that I could compete for a spot on the Olympic Rowing Team. I began school in September, 1980, but continued to train with no plans to attempt to make a team again. I applied for an Olympic Development single and began sculling in 1981. I trained primarily on my own, but during summer break I was able to train with Scott Roop7175 and Mike Totta, who was a fast up-and- coming sculler in the central New York region. “After successful racing in my single and a double during the summer of 1982, I decided to ask for a leave of absence from dental school and moved to Boston in December to row for Harry. “As in 1979 and 1980, Harry had a group of oarsmen who were training for the U.S. Sculling Team out of the Harvard boathouse. In the early morning, we trained in doubles and quads under Harry’s guidance and rowed our singles on our own in the evenings. We had a cohesive group of men, including Joe Bouscaren, Tiff Wood, Charlie Altekruse, Mike Totta, Scott Roop, Bruce Beall, and Ridgley Johnson, but every day was like a day at a selection camp, with the same intensity. Brad Lewis, John Biglow and Paul Enquist joined us later in the spring. Brad was aloof and kept to himself. “I remember the camp that summer in Hanover as seemingly lasting forever. As with all of Harry’s camps, there was almost daily seat racing. He tore people down, and it was a matter of survival. No one really knew where they stood in Harry’s eyes.”7176 7175 Ibid. 7176 Purdy, personal correspondence, 2010 1983 Quad Technique The 1983 Quad had a lineup of formidable athletes and was a smooth, well- coached boat, as the film frames on the following pages amply demonstrate. However, Biglow still believes his back problem was definitely having an impact on his technique and the boat’s performance. Biglow: “My herniated disc gave me sciatica, which is an aching in your leg. There’s nothing wrong with your leg. It’s all in your back. The nerve from your leg is getting compressed, so therefore it sends a signal to your brain that feels the same as leg pain. “In addition to the pain, a compressed nerve may also lead to a weaker muscle. The pain was not slowing me down, but I suspect the weakness was, and it was also forcing me to adopt a different technique. “That’s what I was wrestling with. “I think I was the major reason why the quad didn’t make the final in ‘83. Our other races felt light and quick, but the semi-final was a bad race for us. I was stroking, and I didn’t even know I was doing it, but my oars were hanging up so badly at the catch. Watching the movies afterwards, it was really obvious. “Harry looked at it and said, ‘Yeah, I can’t figure out why you were doing that.’”7177 Frank Cunningham and others had an explanation: a windup prior to explosive Kernschlag segmented force application. Brad Lewis: “They had a lot of horsepower, but they were pretty rough under power. “Biggie was a tough guy to row against but pretty good in the boat. He rowed okay in the quad, technically better than Tiff would have, but he basically treated it like a floating erg.”7178 7177 Biglow, op. cit. 7178 Lewis, op. cit. 2005
