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Sunday, September 17
Men, women have some catching up to do
Associated Press
SYDNEY, Australia -- By skipping the European regatta
season, the U.S. men's and women's eights could only guess how they
stacked up against the rest of the world.
The early verdict at the Olympics is in, and it's not what they
wanted.
In qualifying heats Monday (Sunday EDT), the three-time world
champion men's squad fell behind Croatia early and never caught up.
The Americans appeared resigned to defeat and eased at the end to
save strength for another qualifying round Wednesday, but still
held on to second place.
The women flamed out after leading a tight race for the first
1,000 meters, finishing third to the Netherlands and Canada in a
three-boat race. Knowing they too will be racing again Wednesday,
the Americans closed with halfhearted strokes pulled from slumped
shoulders.
"I think a little bit of nerves were there," said Linda
Miller, one of seven first-time Olympians in the boat.
At least the women's lightweight double sculls won its heat,
giving the United States its only first-place finish in 14 events
over the first two days of qualifying. The United States is the
only country competing in every event.
The men's eight is America's top hope for gold. Seven of the
eight rowers and the coxswain have been part of at least one of the
last three world championships, many of them for multiple
victories.
Coach Mike Teti said nerves weren't the problem for his squad --
it just got beat by a Croatian crew that on this day was faster.
Australia won the other heat.
"It's not like we didn't row a good piece," Teti said.
"That's what happens in an eight. It's a momentum kind of event.
If you're on, the boats can go really fine. I think today Australia
and Croatia were the crews who were on."
Teti's crew carries the burden of trying to rekindle an American
tradition in the eight. The United States won 11 gold medals
between 1900 and '64, including eight straight from 1920-56.
During the 36-year gold drought, Americans have won just two
silver and a bronze, none since '88.
A crowded pack of quality opponents stand in the United States'
way. This result gives rivals the confidence to believe the gold is
up for grabs.
Teti said his team has no reason to doubt itself.
"Michael Jordan some days goes out and shoots 2-for-18 from the field. Is there a reason for that? He feels good, has a good
warm-up, he just has a bad game," Teti said. "And, vice versa, he
goes out some days and is 15-for-15 from the field. Who knows?"
The women also remained positive despite losing a heat for the
first time. Amy Martin told her teammates to look at it this way:
"We've never lost a heat, but we've never won a gold medal."
"If you're not racing all year, you need to step outside your
comfort zone -- and we're definitely outside our comfort zone now,"
Katie Maloney said.
Romania, the reigning world and Olympic champion, did nothing to hurt its status as the women's eight to beat.
In their lightweight double sculls victory, Christine Collins
and Sarah Garner had to hold off a late rally from an Australian
crew buoyed by chants and flag-waving from its home crowd.
Although the Aussies cut the Americans' lead in half, Collins
and Garner still won by more than a second without having to sprint
to the finish.
"We wanted to get away from the Aussies at the start, then hold
them off," Garner said. "We got the job done and that was what's
important. It felt a little rushed, but we haven't raced for a
while."
Romania, featuring Constanta Burcica from its 1996 gold-medal
crew, did nothing to hurt its chances of repeating in the event.
Germany won its heat.
The U.S. men's lightweight double sculls was a disappointing
fourth in a heat won by Poland, the 1997 and '98 world champions.
The Americans were third most of the race, then eased up in the
final 500 once they couldn't crack the top two. They'll have to get
through Wednesday's repechage -- a consolation round -- to get to the
semis.
The United States earned a semifinal spot in the wide-open men's
lightweight coxless four by finishing second to Italy. The men's
quadruple sculls also jumped to the semis by finishing third.
The U.S. women's quad, which also finished third, wasn't as
lucky. Under their qualifying rules, only the heat winner earned a
semifinal spot. So that crew also will row Wednesday.
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