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On the line in Lithuania
A phone call to the coach offers insight to the A Final of the U19 Eight.
Dale Maher's not one of those coaches who goes into a shell around race time.
But not even I was expecting him to give me the opportunity to listen on the phone as he watched the final of the Men's Eight on the last day of racing at the U19 World Championships.
It was either going to be an exhilarating ride with the coach cheering his boys and cox Eliza O'Meagher on or a tough six minutes that gets progressively more silent as the race unfolds.
Last night (NZT) it was the latter in a field of young athletes absolutely going for it and each giving their best.
It's a fine line between dialling it up for the final and getting dialled-in to a great rhythm.
One's pretty easy to achieve, attaining the other is that intangible that comes with rowing.
Dale knew hopes of a medal were fading as his crew went through the 1000m in fifth.
You could almost hear him processing - not who or what to blame but searching for an answer, already looking to next time.
He'll be replaying the final a lot over the next few weeks in his head, as surely as his young athletes will be too. It may take a while to appreciate what making the final means and what it's taken to get there.
And more importantly, what to get out of it.
Gold: Great Britain 5.57.59.
Silver: Czechia 6.01.10.
Bronze: Germany 6.02.88.
Romania (6.08.06), Italy (6.09.29), New Zealand (6.11.62)
Early on, race intervals had been cut to four minutes.
The men's coxed eight of Luke Tompkins (stroke), Avon Rowing Club, Bede Giera, Avon Rowing Club, Ben Allan, Avon Rowing Club, Jack Buckley, Westlake Boys' High School, Corben Campbell, Hamilton Boys' High School, Payo O'Sullivan, Avon Rowing Club, Blake Cooper, Sacred Heart College, Auckland, George Marshall, Sacred Heart College, Auckland and Coxswain: Eliza O'Meagher, Cashmere High School were sixth in the A Final aftER a HARD FOUGHT RACE.
The crew of Eleri Clare, Sadie Mason, Charlotte Peterson and Angalla Carney weren't wasting time through the first 500 of their B Final of the Women's Quad.
It was the best opening sequence of their campaign and they went through the first major mark in first place. Italy led them through the 1000 by 0.78s, but the build was just beginning in the New Zealand boat.
The dial-up really began at around 1600m, New Zealand lifting from 34spm to 36. It got them in the zone against the Italian boat already rating 38. The sprint from 250m was magic, New Zealand winning in 7.09.77.
The wave of crews continued thick and fast like a decent set out on St Kilda beach when there's a southerly swell.
The crew of Eleri Clare, Sadie Mason, Charlotte Peterson and Angalla Carney weren't wasting time through the first 500 of their B Final in the Women's Quad and a magical sprint from 250m saw them take the win in 7.09.77.
The urgency must have suited keen surfer Nathan Strachan and Harry Lightfoot in the B Final of the Men's Double Sculls.
Bulgaria were definitely in a hurry, they smashed through the first 500m in 1.39, the rest of the field trailing by three seconds or more. The fly-or-die continued to the 1000m, the margin between the Bulgarians and the rest of the field, bar Switzerland, blowing out to five seconds.
Where were Harry and Nathan? Dialling it up. They went through the 1500m in 5.16.39, now just two seconds down on leaders Bulgaria. The last 500? A blur as the New Zealand boat surged to finish just 0.37s behind winners Switzerland.
The text came in almost immediately from the Strachan household in East Auckland: "that was more like the way the boys race."
Sure was. The girls too.
After a surge at the last 500m Nathan Strachan and Harry Lightfoot crossed the line in second place in the B Final of the Men's Double Sculls.
Andy Hay
Andy Hay is a freelance producer, writer and Maadi Cup-winning coach. He was cox of the world champion New Zealand eight of 1982 and '83. He is NZ Olympian #446.
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- Home
- /
- International Regattas
- /
- On the line...
On the line in Lithuania
A phone call to the coach offers insight to the A Final of the U19 Eight.
Dale Maher's not one of those coaches who goes into a shell around race time.
But not even I was expecting him to give me the opportunity to listen on the phone as he watched the final of the Men's Eight on the last day of racing at the U19 World Championships.
It was either going to be an exhilarating ride with the coach cheering his boys and cox Eliza O'Meagher on or a tough six minutes that gets progressively more silent as the race unfolds.
Last night (NZT) it was the latter in a field of young athletes absolutely going for it and each giving their best.
It's a fine line between dialling it up for the final and getting dialled-in to a great rhythm.
One's pretty easy to achieve, attaining the other is that intangible that comes with rowing.
Dale knew hopes of a medal were fading as his crew went through the 1000m in fifth.
You could almost hear him processing - not who or what to blame but searching for an answer, already looking to next time.
He'll be replaying the final a lot over the next few weeks in his head, as surely as his young athletes will be too. It may take a while to appreciate what making the final means and what it's taken to get there.
And more importantly, what to get out of it.
Gold: Great Britain 5.57.59.
Silver: Czechia 6.01.10.
Bronze: Germany 6.02.88.
Romania (6.08.06), Italy (6.09.29), New Zealand (6.11.62)
Early on, race intervals had been cut to four minutes.
The men's coxed eight of Luke Tompkins (stroke), Avon Rowing Club, Bede Giera, Avon Rowing Club, Ben Allan, Avon Rowing Club, Jack Buckley, Westlake Boys' High School, Corben Campbell, Hamilton Boys' High School, Payo O'Sullivan, Avon Rowing Club, Blake Cooper, Sacred Heart College, Auckland, George Marshall, Sacred Heart College, Auckland and Coxswain: Eliza O'Meagher, Cashmere High School were sixth in the A Final aftER a HARD FOUGHT RACE.
The crew of Eleri Clare, Sadie Mason, Charlotte Peterson and Angalla Carney weren't wasting time through the first 500 of their B Final of the Women's Quad.
It was the best opening sequence of their campaign and they went through the first major mark in first place. Italy led them through the 1000 by 0.78s, but the build was just beginning in the New Zealand boat.
The dial-up really began at around 1600m, New Zealand lifting from 34spm to 36. It got them in the zone against the Italian boat already rating 38. The sprint from 250m was magic, New Zealand winning in 7.09.77.
The wave of crews continued thick and fast like a decent set out on St Kilda beach when there's a southerly swell.
The crew of Eleri Clare, Sadie Mason, Charlotte Peterson and Angalla Carney weren't wasting time through the first 500 of their B Final in the Women's Quad and a magical sprint from 250m saw them take the win in 7.09.77.
The urgency must have suited keen surfer Nathan Strachan and Harry Lightfoot in the B Final of the Men's Double Sculls.
Bulgaria were definitely in a hurry, they smashed through the first 500m in 1.39, the rest of the field trailing by three seconds or more. The fly-or-die continued to the 1000m, the margin between the Bulgarians and the rest of the field, bar Switzerland, blowing out to five seconds.
Where were Harry and Nathan? Dialling it up. They went through the 1500m in 5.16.39, now just two seconds down on leaders Bulgaria. The last 500? A blur as the New Zealand boat surged to finish just 0.37s behind winners Switzerland.
The text came in almost immediately from the Strachan household in East Auckland: "that was more like the way the boys race."
Sure was. The girls too.
After a surge at the last 500m Nathan Strachan and Harry Lightfoot crossed the line in second place in the B Final of the Men's Double Sculls.
Andy Hay
Andy Hay is a freelance producer, writer and Maadi Cup-winning coach. He was cox of the world champion New Zealand eight of 1982 and '83. He is NZ Olympian #446.
