“Rowing is such a fine sport. Everyone goes backward, and the leader can see his opponents as they struggle in vain.” Quote by Brad Alan Lewis
“I slapped my face two or three times with both hands, as hard as possible. The slapping hurt. It snapped me to attention. My adrenaline started flowing... the Yugoslavs, sitting in the next lane stared at me in disbelief. The harsh slapping made me angry-exactly what I wanted. I did my best work when I was angry.” MadeTwoHardHandsWantedFacesThreeNextHurtAttentionSittingAngryHarshThree TimesDisbeliefBest WorkLanesAdrenalineRowingSlapping Author:Brad Alan Lewis
“I led by three or four feet, with Biggy (John Biglow) surging closer on each stroke. I hated him in those last few seconds; he was the only reason my guts were being strewn over the water like an oil slick ... I pressed one last time, and looked at the finish-line flagman. In that instant the flag jumped down and then up. The up stroke, identifying the second place finisher, was for me. John Biglow was the victor. I stared into the green-brown water watching my bloody soul drop through the depths, slowly rocking back and forth, occasionally glinting in the light, and then finally disappearing.” SoulReasonLightLastsThreeWaterLinesFourFeetDown AndGreenDepthOilDisappearHatedInstantGutsBrownSecondsFlagsBloodyLast TimeStrokesBack And ForthIdentifyingRowingFinish LineSlickSecond PlaceFinishersBiggy Author:Brad Alan Lewis
“In terms of pure physical effort, today was probably as hard as I've worked in any part. I spent the morning rowing, including the change of speeds Arrius [the Roman commander] test Judah with. A real bone-breaker.” RealHardTodayTermEffortMorningPureTestsIncludingBonesSpeedCommandersRowingJudah Author:Charlton Heston
“Being in shape was not my goal. My body was a tool to test the capabilities of my will.” BodyGoalShapesToolsTestsCapabilityRowing Author:Stefan Kieszling
“Once one is beyond a certain level of commitment to the sport, life begins to seem an allegory of rowing rather than rowing an allegory of life.” SeemsCertainSportsLevelsCommitmentRowingAllegory Author:Stefan Kieszling
“For two months after Christmas vacation we limped around campus with muscles too tigh and sore to walk properly, yet we had no good idea of our goal. Without knowing what a real race was like, I couldn't judge whether it was worth all the preparation, but having put in so much time already, how could we back out? Quite a few Freshman did manage to back out. After Christmas several, when freed from faily practice, decided that they liked not feeling tired all the time. Most of them vanished without a word.” TwoIdeasRealFeelingsGoalWalksRacePracticeKnowingJudgingMonthsDecidedTiredManagePreparationMusclesVacationGood IdeasCampusTwo MonthsRowingFreshman Author:Stefan Kieszling
“As a competitor, winner or loser, one crosses the line into limbo. The adrenaline is gone, the anticipation is gone. The verdict is either comforting or devestating but it neithers returns the exhilaration of the race nor helps directly to win the next. Maybe all that matters is that there is a next.” MatterHelpingNextWinningLinesRaceGoneReturnCrossesWinnerLoserAnticipationCompetitorsComfortingAdrenalineRowingVerdictExhilarationLimbo Author:Stefan Kieszling
“That morning each of us found a breaking point. Not only a physical barrier, but a point where determination, stamina and duty clashed and were overcome not so much by pain but by absurdity.” PainFoundMorningDutyDeterminationOvercomingBarriersAbsurdityStaminaRowingPoint Break Author:Stefan Kieszling
“A man goes through many changes in 2000 meters. Some are not very pretty. Some make you hate yourself. Some make you wonder if you've been rowing for only three or four days. To avoid that fate, we prepared for all possibilities. If a meteor landed 10 feet off our stern, we would not blink. [We] Would be aware, yet impassive, to the outside world. Every ounce of energy would be funneled into the water, and not wasted by looking around, worrying about opponents, wondering about things that didn't concern our primary goal-to be the first across the finish line.” IfsMenWorldFirstsWould BeHateThreeEnergyGoalWaterLinesWonderWorryFourFateFeetPossibilityConcernPreparedPrimariesOpponentsHate YouOutside WorldBlinkMeterRowingFinish LineMeteors Author:Brad Alan Lewis
“Karen rowed for what the venerable American shell builder George Pocock called `the symphony of motion.' As dawn breaks over the river, the shell is lifted from its rack out into the morning. On another rack the oars hang ready to be greased and slipped into the locks. Then, awakened to the river and the feel of the oars, the oarsmen blend in fulfillment of the shell. The symphony is not of competition. It is the synchronous motion over water, the harmonic flexing of wood and muscle, where each piece of equipment and every oarsman is both essential to, and the limit of motion itself.” FeelsWaterBreakMorningPiecesReadyLimitsEssentialsRiversCompetitionWoodsDawnFulfillmentMusclesShellsLocksEquipmentSymphonyAwakenedBuilderRowingRacksOarFlexing Author:Stefan Kieszling