THE SPORT OF ROWING weren’t, you figured out that you had to do something different. “If you really asked him, he’d go out with you and do a little coaching, but he didn’t spend a lot of time on technique.”7785 Spracklen: “The winter programme comprised two training sessions a day, six days a week. On four of those days an additional session for technique was held late morning in which athletes were given personal coaching either on request or as directed.”7786 Brown University undergrad Jamie Koven: “Mike always had this focus on small boats. I had been rowing eights at Brown, and when I showed up in Princeton after Henley in the beginning of July in ‘93, I had to jump into a pair right away. The only way I could make the eight was if I did well in a pair, so I had to get better quickly. “Having guys go out and do workouts in pairs was one thing. Korzo had done that in the previous four years,7787 but actually making small boats part of the selection criteria was something completely different. Spracklen made people prove that they could go fast in small boats before they even got a shot at the eight.”7788 University of California grad Fred Honebein: “I had done some pretty good stuff on the ergometer in college, but had never gotten to go as far as I thought I could, so when I saw two former teammates, Tim Evans from Redwood High School and Teo Bielefeld from Orange Coast College, while watching the Barcelona Olympics on television, I sort of got the itch. “I moved to the East Coast in August of ‘92 and started training. I found a good pair-partner in Don Smith, and we just had a magic to our boat. It just went. 7785 Kaehler, personal conversation, 2008 7786 Spracklen, op. cit. 7787 See Chapter 124. 7788 Koven, personal conversation, 2008 “My memories of ‘93 are pretty slim because I was such a greenhorn. I was like, ‘Just tell me where to go and how hard to pull. All I want to do is go over to Europe and race.’”7789 Spracklen: “It was not long after my arrival that trials were held in Princeton for selection of all boats for the World Championships with the exception of the eight. The plan was to form that boat later in the summer. A coxless-four comprising Tom Bohrer, Jeff Klepacki, Sean Hall, and Jim Neil had been formed with Coach Ted Nash7790 and were uncontested,7791 but there were several athletes trying for the coxless-pair and coxed-four. The trial for both these boats was held in pairs and was won by Fred Honebein and Don Smith, who immediately announced that they would give up their place to try for a seat in the eight. The next three pairs made the same decision, leaving Mike Teti and John Parker who were placed fifth, to race the coxless-pair.7792 “I had helped the top four pairs prepare for the trial but was not expecting them to give up their places to try for the eight. None of them had previously rowed for the National Team, and to try for a crew they might not make to join me was highly motivating. “Training began on a very positive note. The atmosphere was exciting. The athletes adjusted quickly to the programme, worked hard, and confidence grew. “By the end of the camp, I thought the crew fast enough to win the World Championship despite the short time they were together, but the standard was higher 7789 Honebein, personal conversation, 2008 7790 See Chapter 132. 7791 They won World Bronze in Račice. 7792 They placed 10th in Račice. 2170
