TORONTO — The eight boat in rowing represents the perfect marriage between power and harmony, says Cristy Nurse. It’s the ultimate expression of teamwork.
For the past four years, Canada’s women’s eight has worked daily on finding that rhythm at their training base in London, Ont., in preparation for the Rio Olympics.
Canada won’t have a men’s boat in rowing’s marquee event in Rio, but the women won silver four years ago in London, and headlined the 26-member Canadian Olympic rowing team announced Monday.
"As you know, the special thing about this boat is it’s the ultimate expression of teamwork," said Nurse, a 29-year-old from Georgetown, Ont., and member of the women’s eight. "It takes nine minds and nine bodies working together (the ninth member is the coxswain).
"There’s a reason it’s the eight on those posters in doctors offices and classrooms, that say ‘teamwork,’ it’s really the embodiment of that. And I think that’s what this crew is capable of when we get it right."
The Canadian team features 10 returning Olympians, including six who won medals in London. Lesley Thompson-Willie, the coxswain of the women’s eight, will compete in her eighth Olympic Games, tying the all-time women’s record for any sport.
"We’ve got incredibly strong athletic girls (in the eight), and going into Rio, it’s just going to be about refining and sharpening, so that every stroke is just moving that boat together," Nurse said. "In this boat class it’s about just gliding through the water, we want to take inches from our competition as we move, and sharpening our skills as we go forward. And the bigger the boat, the minds have to come together, and that’s our challenge going forward."
Canada has a tradition of excellence in rowing, capturing 40 medals in Olympic history, ninth best in the world. The Canadian team took home two medals from London — silver in the men’s and women’s eights.
But post-London, Rowing Canada killed the men’s eight program, hoping to spread the resources over a number of smaller boats.
Canada qualified six boats for Rio last September at the world championships, and the men’s quadruple sculls — Julien Bahain, Will Dean, Rob Gibson, and Pascal Lussier — clinched a spot as the seventh and final boat at the final Olympic qualifying regatta in May.
Lussier, a 24-year-old from Saint Jean-sur-Richelieu, Que., says he’s the "new kid on the block," among three Olympic veterans.
"Those three guys behind me have 40 years of experience, and I’ve only been rowing for four years, so to have those guys behind me to help me every day, to go to practice and just be professional, be a better athlete every day, they’ve done a good job of that," Lussier said. "Just going through the qualifier, my goal was to have a solid race, don’t think about anything else… execute under pressure, I really learned from that, from putting everything on the line."
Marnie McBean, a three-time Olympic gold medallist for Canada, announced the 26-member team at a morning news conference at Casa Loma, in midtown Toronto. The 48-year-old talked about athletes who rise to the Olympic occasion.
"There’s an element of desperation that comes through, there’s an element of hunger that comes through," she told the rowers. "So my best wishes for all of you will be that you have the hunger in you, and that you’re the team that’s ready to rise up, you’re the ones who are going to rise up and become the legends of the next quadrennial."
The rowing competition will take place at Lagoa Stadium, Aug. 6-14, with eight men’s events and six women’s events.
——
Team:
Women’s singles sculls: Carling Zeeman, Cambridge, Ont.
Lightweight women’s double sculls: Lindsay Jennerich, Victoria; Patricia Obee, Victoria.
Women’s pair: Nicole Hare, Calgary; Jennifer Martins, Toronto.
Men’s four: Will Crothers, Kingston, Ont.; Kal Langerfeld, North Vancouver; Conlin McCabe, Brockville, Ont.; Tim Schrijver, Thedford, Ont.
Men’s quadruple sculls: Julien Bahain, Angers, France; Will Dean, Kelowna, B.C.; Rob Gibson, Kingston, Ont.; Pascal Lussier, Saint Jean-sur-Richelieu, Que.
Lightweight men’s four: Brendan Hodge, South Delta, B.C.; Maxwell Lattimer, Delta, B.C.; Nicolas Pratt, Kingston, Ont.; Eric Woelfl, St. Catharines, Ont.
Women’s eight: Caileigh Filmer, Victoria; Susanne Grainger, London, Ont.; Natalie Mastracci, Thorold, Ont.; Cristy Nurse, Georgetown, Ont.; Lisa Roman, Langley, B.C.; Christine Roper, Montego Bay, Jamaica; Lesley Thompson-Willie, London, Ont.; Antje von Seydlitz, Smithers, B.C.; Lauren Wilkinson, North Vancouver.
Alternates: Ashley Brzozowicz, Omemee, Ont.; Matthew Buie, Duntroon, Ont.; Hillary Janssens, Cloverdale, B.C.; Kate Sauks, Owen Sound, Ont.
