Comebacks & Experience

After having competed at the Olympics in Athens 4 years ago I have reflected on what could have been many, many times. I remember looking at the names of the men in each crew of the Olympic final and I realized that we were the only crew with absolutely no “Olympic experience”. This is by no means an excuse for our disappointing 5^th place performance but it showed me that if you have guys in your boat who have done it before or at least experienced it, they can lead those who have not and keep them focused on winning when distractions and pressure hit a peak.

The Australians did a great job of bringing back 4 Olympic medalists to take their eight from 6^th in 2003 to bronze in 2004. The Americans had 3 men from their 2000 eight who had finished a disappointing 5^th go on to win gold in Athens. Whether your Olympic experience is a sour one or a great one….you have a better understanding of what is at stake.

I wanted to bring this up as the Aussie’s are at it again. They have 3 multiple medalists who have just made “comebacks” this year and are focusing most of their top athletes into the eight. This begs the question am I now scared of them. The answer is NO. Will I discount their abilities or take them for granted, no way.

The Canadian Men’s Eight of 2008 is likely to have 2 Olympic rookies, 6 guys with Olympic experience and one guy with a silver medal from Athens. This time I’ll be able to be one of the guys keeping everyone on track and focused on one thing…..GOLD!