BY MACKENZIE LIDDELL, CTVOLYMPICS.CA STAFF
Despite all her success, Canadian rower Darcy Marquardt won’t be satisfied until that final box on her checklist is crossed off.
That final task, however, is the ever-elusive Olympic medal.
Marquardt, 32, made her Olympic debut in 2004 in Athens, finishing just shy – 3.97 seconds to be exact – of the podium with a fourth place finish in the women’s coxless pair. She returned to represent Canada in Beijing in 2008 in the coxless eight and once again came up short, finishing 0.79 seconds back of the bronze medal-winning Romanians.
Marquardt and the Canadian team have made strides since that disappointing August day in Beijing and will head to London as medal favourites, having won back-to-back silver medals at the rowing world championships.
But the Richmond, B.C., native is quick to dismiss those accomplishments as nothing more than a signpost of progress on the road to her final Olympic Games.
"It’s a checkpoint. You’ve got your checklist and it’s a check in the box, " Marquardt said during an interview at the Canadian Olympic Committee Media Summit on Nov. 21 in Mississauga, Ont. "Check; we got a silver medal, our training is working. Check; we got a silver medal and qualified the boat for next year in London.
"It’s silly to say that I’m not satisfied with the silver medal but the truth of the matter is that I don’t have a Olympic one yet, " Marquardt said. "And that’s my goal and that’s why I’ve come back to try one last time."
Marquardt is currently one of 14 women vying for the eight seats in the Canadian boat and although she has been a fixture on the national team, she isn’t taking anything for granted.
"My goal isn’t necessarily to get in the boat anymore. It’s to help it win," Marquardt said. "What’s unique about this group of women is that each of them believe the same thing. When we’re training against one another in practice we’re pushing for (a spot on the team). So there’s no time to be complacent and no time to enjoy the moment of the performance. But knowing that it’s possible keeps us going."
While Marquardt remains humble about her chances, she’s about as much of a lock as there is on the Canadian team due to her vast experience – an important attribute in a team-oriented event like the women’s eight.
Big-stage experience is especially important when the key to Canada’s success in London, according to Marquardt, rests on their ability to stay focused in the final stretch of a race.
"You can’t win a race in the first 500 metres. Yes, having a strong start is important but you don’t have to be leading," she said. "The last 500 is the mental preparation. We’re working with sports psychologists on how to deal under pressure and when another boat is coming on and how you draw that last little bit of effort."
Having six-time Olympian and four-time medalist Lesley Thompson-Willie as the team’s leader and coxswain will certainly help when Canada is making the final push towards the finish line in London.
"She knows, she’s been there, she’s raced every scenario that there could be, so it’s an enormous amount of trust and belief in her ability and her ability to know what the crew needs to hear at a very crucial moment," Marquardt said.
And no moment will be more crucial for Marquardt than the London Games – her last shot at crossing off the final task on her checklist.
