THE SPORT OF ROWING Sean Hall, a provincial coach in China in 2008: “Mike Spracklen has had a profound effect on me and in particular on my coaching style. While I am not as mild- mannered as he, I do utilize the psycho- logical aspects of sport as well as many of his games (though I am nowhere near as refined at it) in my own practice.”7814 Eagle Creek, 1994 On Eagle Creek Reservoir outside of Indianapolis, the American Men’s Eight, stroked by Jeff Klepacki, stormed off the line at a seldom-seen 53 strokes per minute, but it was the defending World Champion German crew rowing only 45 which held half a deck advantage after 100 meters. By 200 meters, the U.S. had caught up. By 500 meters, they were three seats ahead and moving away at a fearful pace. Speed through the water was astonishing to the eye. At 750, they had very nearly a length. Commentator Dan Topolski: “The United States is at 42 strokes per minute. That is extraordinarily high for so early on in the race. They haven’t really got a stride at all. They’re just powering. It’s a sprint, sort of a 1,000 meter sprint, but carried over 2,000 meters.”7815 Koven: “The most notable thing about that race is that it was probably the first time ever that an international crew didn’t go below 50 in the entire first 500 meters and won the race! That was not planned. I think it had to do with having too light a load for the conditions. We didn’t realize there was going to be such a strong tailwind. “We changed our race plan at the last minute, and what we ended up with was several sprints very, very early on. We did our start, settled for ten strokes, and then we went up again for twenty. We just wanted to 7814 Hall, personal correspondence, 2008 7815 Topolski, FISA 1994 Video get out as far as we possibly could and hold on. That was the Spracklen method.”7816 At the half-way point, the margin remained a closed length over a packed field led by Romania. In the next 250, the Romanians and an experienced crew of Dutch international small-boat specialists7817 earned back a few seats, but a 10 by the Americans soon returned the margin to just under a length. The Dutch then began to cut seriously into the American lead with 500 meters to go, but they were still seven seats down at the 1,750. The American rating went to 41 and then 43 as the Dutch continued to advance. Five seats. Four seats. Three seats. The two shells flashed over the line with the U.S. still ahead by a bit more than a deck length, 0.6 seconds. Spracklen: “The race strategy was to row through the middle 1,000 meters with minimal fade while recognizing that a fast start to keep up with the leaders was psychologically beneficial. The USA Eight were fast for the first 500m, but leading early was not the main focus, despite the impression it gave to critics. Fast starting was accomplished by the method adopted and from practicing over and over again. The last 500 metres rested on the athletes’ determination to win the race. “The crew was confident they would win the race, and in anticipation of becoming World Champions they began with excitement that took them over the course at a higher rate than had been practiced. It was physically expensive and they paid the price in the last 500m, but determination kept them in the lead to the finish.”7818 7816 Koven, op. cit. 7817 See Chapter 135. 7818 Spracklen, op. cit. 2178
