THE SPORT OF ROWING A third possible combination was Colgan and Altekruse, who had done well in Tampa four months earlier. Colgan: “In the January Florida camp, Charlie and I had been undefeated in doubles races, but we never rowed together again as Harry wanted me in the quad. “Later at the Head of the Charles in October, 1984, Charlie and I jumped into a double without practice and won the race over Brad Lewis and set the course record that stood for eleven years.”7264 A fourth possibility was Lewis and Wood, who had finished second and third at the Singles Trials. Brad had suggested to Tiff that the two of them bypass the Camp entirely and just go for the Trials. Tiff thought for a moment but turned him down. “Nah, I don’t think so.”7265 It turned out that during the entire month of the Camp they would not row a double together even once. Brad eventually went up to assistant coach Chris Allsopp, his 1978 double-partner, and pleaded his case. Halberstam: “Allsopp said he would think about it, but nothing ever happened.”7266 Toward the end of the Camp, Brad approached Tiff a second time about leaving and preparing together for the Doubles Trials. Again, Tiff said no.7267 Wood in 2009: “What I should have done was win the Singles Trials. After that, what I should have done was leave the Camp with Brad.”7268 On the first day of the Camp, Harry Parker announced, “Each morning you’ll row two 2,000 meter races. The winning crew will stay together, and everyone else 7264 Ibid. 7265 Qtd. by Lewis, Assault, p. 24 7266 Halberstam, p. 165 7267 Lewis, op. cit., p. 60 7268 Wood, op. cit. will be assigned a new partner. You’ll use the afternoon practices to get acquainted.”7269 Enquist: “At camp, a two-mile warm- up with your new partner was all we usually had before racing. This produced really inconsistent results. Even the same partners would be inconsistent from day to day and sometimes even piece by piece.”7270 Purdy: “I don’t recall much about the 1984 Camp except that it was physically and psychologically as intense as ever. “I recall rowing with Brad and not having such a great time. He was constantly correcting me. I don’t think we rowed well together. I regretted that John had won the Singles Trials. I knew he was a stronger team boat sculler than Brad, and I liked rowing with him better. “I was not privy to all of the maneuvering and requests from people to row with others in a double. I kept to myself and rowed in the boats where Harry placed me. Despite the fact that I had rowed for Harry in 1979, 1980 and 1983, I did not feel that I was one of his favorites at the camp. I had to prove myself every day and was seat raced frequently. I think it was better that I didn’t know what was going on with all of the potential alliances that were being formed. There was a lot of politicking going on behind the scenes that many of us were not aware of.”7271 Brad Lewis believed he was trying his best to fit in, but it wasn’t easy for him, and it wasn’t very successful. Lewis: “Over the past year, I had worked myself into a massive ball of anger for the sole purpose of traversing the 2,000 meter race course in a single faster than any American.7272 7269 Qtd. by Lewis, Assault, p. 31 7270 Enquist, op. cit., 2009 7271 Purdy, op. cit. 7272 Lewis, op. cit., p. 29 2026
