This is my first entry since the Luzern World Cup.
Regret and disappointment are the first emotions I felt after the final in Luzern, where we placed fourth.
I regretted the missed opportunity to, firstly impose psychological pressure on our opposition that will be in Beijing, and secondly to win a race at, probably, the greatest natural (opposed to man-made) race course in the world.
There’s clearly no need to explain my emotions of disappointment.
Some people I’ve spoken to since the race have tried to butter me up by saying that fourth isn’t a bad result. I can appreciate their perspective…and their desire to put me in a better mood…but I’m most disappointed that the result isn’t reflective of what we were capable of achieving as a crew at this point of our preparation.
We won our heat on the Friday by executing our plan for that row. We raced out hard and were probably only a few feet in the lead, but we were comfortable enough in our rhythm and our position to keep racing in that position until the second half of the race.
Moving through the 1000m mark, Marty Rabjohns (our cox) called for us to push ahead and we moved out to about half a length’s lead over Great Britain & Germany and stayed at this margin until the finish. This was a solid heat row and I was happy that I had a race under my belt now after being sick in Munich.
In their heat, the Canadians beat China comfortably with a quick time of 5m:25s. They were clearly making a statement about their arrival on the international racing program. This definitely created a distraction for us in our lead-up to the final.
There were no real surprises in the qualifiers for the final based on the results in Munich. China, Great Britain, Germany and Poland qualified through the repechage.
The French and Dutch raced the B Final and will be racing for the final qualification spot in two weeks at the wildcard races in Poland.
Throughout the weekend we watched the boys we’ve trained with all season competing in the coxless fours event (made famous in Australia by the Awesome Foursome) and after they stayed in Canberra training rather than race in Munich, everyone was keen to see how they raced as a new combination.
They kicked arse. They won their heat, semi-final and final. A comprehensive, confidence-building weekend of racing before they chase an Olympics berth in Poland.
It was inspirational to watch. I think our crew can learn from the way they’ve gelled as a crew as well as the way they raced – taking no prisoners and no mercy all the way down the course. They didn’t give the other crews a chance.
Our final was not indicative of what we are capable of doing over 2000m. It was a poor representation and we all hung our heads in shame after the race.
Sport is like that. You put all your abilities out there to be evaluated by all and there’s no hiding when you fall short.
We didn’t race out well from the start and after that struggled to get into a racing rhythm that could race down the opposition. We focused on the Canadians too much.
We learnt a lot about the way we race and our opposition. This is reason we fly over to Europe, to see where we stand at this point, 8 weeks out from the Olympics and to learn how we race as a, relatively, new crew. This is all part of the planning process that’s required for the event that culminates four years of preparation.
We’re now back in Varese, Italy and have spent the last week getting smacked around by our coach.
We’re back into voluminous training loads, like yesterday where our first rowing session was 4 x 15mins of rate changes at full pressure and today we did a three-and-a-half hour bike ride.
No doubt there’s going to be a fair bit of pain over the next few weeks, but none of it can hurt like racing poorly did.
The result in Luzern can guarantee there’s no hubris that creeps into our training.
James has been selected in the Australian men’s eight for the Beijing Olympics. He will be producing a diary for The Roar in the lead-up to the start of the Games on August 8. You can receive emails of James’ column by signing up here.
James Chapman
Guest
Garry, I believe all the countries go to Europe to test their combinations under race conditions and to see how advanced other countries are in their preparations. Everyone likes to win these events, that's why we compete at the elite, international level, but anyone would give up a medal in any of the World Cups for the one that counts in Beijing. As you've mentioned there's not always a direct correlation as mentioned in the article below; http://ca.news.yahoo.com/s/24062008/21/canada-s-olympic-hopefuls-7-series.html We've gained a lot from racing in Munich and Luzern. We acquired some confidence from Munich, since last years World Championship results and we've also learned about some of the challenges we face as a crew from our final in Luzern. You're right though, the one that counts is the finish line at the Olympics. Apropos crew selections, it appears you've aready come to your subjective opinion. What I hope for is that all AUSTRALIAN crews outperform all other countries and Australia can be the No. 1 rowing nation in the world and contribute to the Olympic Medal tally...especially my mates in the four.
James Chapman
Guest
Sammy Smith, It is the same Dave! He's now living over in Holland and it appears has done an amazing job with the Dutch VIII. He did a similar job with their LIghtweight VIII last year at the World Champs. Dave is a great rower and I always knew I was in for a tough race whenever we raced domestically. I'm not sure if there's an advantage to knowing how we train & race as these things change with every crew and every season. We'll be trying to make ourselves go as fast as possible in our lane, we can't affect anyone else's performance (i.e. make them go slower). Likewise, they'll be trying to go as fast as possible in their lane, unlike sports such as footy, you can't have much of an impact on other crews' speed. I think the showdown will be great for the all the countries at the Olympic regatta. The Dutch qualified through the wildcard in 2004 and went on to win the silver medal. I think any crew that makes it to the Olympics will be tough competition.
hugh
Guest
james, thanks so much for posting the video on my youtube account! i uploaded it hoping one of the guys in the eight might see it haha
James Chapman
Guest
Taylor...I think this is the video you're looking for. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fUpZd5TL3xY There is also a few more videos now on the abc.net.au website after Lisa Millar from ABC spent a day with su during the week.
garry
Guest
james, if the Australian Mens 4- proves to perform better than the 8+ in beijing, will the omissions of forsterling, mckenzie-mcharg and marburg vindicate the opinions of some in Australian rowing that those 3 victorians in particular should have been included? no doubt such an outcome would begin to question the subjective nature of athlete selection in rowing and the vulnerability of character clashes being reflected in the final selections...
sammy smith
Guest
great work james! is there a new post comming soon? i have been looking through some stuff on world rowing and noticed there was a dave mcgowan that won a world cup in the 8 and the same name appeared as coach of the 8 from holland. is this the same guy? if so will he and his crew have an edge over you guys with his insight on all of you? way you race, train etc. it is set for a terrific showdown if true. anyway hope the training is going
Labamba
Guest
Not long to go now!!!! LOVING THE BLOG hope the training isnt too painful xx
Nora Grigorian
Guest
Just catching up with your logs. Hope you are on the way up after your 4th placement. Great to read about your journey. Congrats on all fronts. Its inspirational to learn not only of the physical discipline but also the emotional and mental challenges and triumphs of an elite.
Taylor Bridge
Guest
In a recent James chapman log there was a video of the Aust VIII. Can you give m ethe address as i can not locate the article. Some correspondent made a remark that he was glad to see that video as he took.????
Giri Nakulesan
Guest
Where are you these days?
garry
Guest
james, i am just interested in what exactly it is that international crews take out of the world cup series when preparing for the olympics. i understand you were disappointed with your row, however when it comes to placings many examples prove little correlation between success in the world cups and success at the olympics - a prime case in point being the world cup winning Aussie mens quad in 2004 and then B finalists in athens... surely all that counts is being in front on the last stroke in beijing, not in munich, lucerne or poland. and dare i say, with you boys going in underdogs the stage is set for a repeat of the oarsome foursome 1996!
James Chapman
Guest
Hugh: We're returning to 'The Berra' next week after our camp finishes in Varese. IWe're only there for two weeks. Ideally we'd be in a humid climate, but the best we can do is our pre-Beijing camp near Maroochydore in Queensland. There is a river and rowing course there. Canberra is too cold prior to China. Spiro: this was definitely one of the lows, but the 'power of perseverence' tells me that every success story has had set-backs along the way...they are just, often, not mentioned. Thanks for the note Mick. Great to hear from you. We've just all sat down and watched the race in Luzern together. A tough and confronting video session. We'll be better for it.
Mick Rowan
Guest
James, important that the learning has occurred eight weeks out and that you have time to respond. This is what great athletes thrive on and this crew is certainly in that category.
Spiro Zavos
Expert
James, in show business there is an adage about a poor rehearsal and then a brilliant opening night performance. So let's hope this is the way it is going to go with the Australian eights. It is fascinating to get a real insight into the way an Olympic performance is built up, the highs, the lows and, hopefully, the winner's summit.
hugh
Guest
will you return to the 'berra' before the olympics? or stay in a warmer more humid environment leading into beijeing? thanks