The US women's four failed to advance to the A final today, but despite their disappointment missed a bus to share with us their thoughts about the historic nature of the event - the women's four has not been contested in the Olympics since 1992, and is central to the new gender balance of the Olympic rowing schedule - as well as dealing with disappointment, rallying to race again, and sticking together as a crew.
row2k: You guys are all very accomplished rowers in your own right - you know, having done different things. One previous Olympian in the boat. After a day like today, what goes through your mind as you start to take apart your race from today?
Grace Luczak: I'm really proud of our whole boat. I think that we put out really good effort as individuals today, and I feel really great walking away. This is my last Olympics and last racing, and I wouldn't want to race with four other people, and I'm sure we could have benefitted this year from having some international racing, but compared to last time, there was no emotional breakdown. I feel so much better ending the sport with this group of people.
Kendall Chase: We took what we learned from the heat, and executed what we wanted to execute in the rep. Unfortunately, it wasn't good enough to put us in the place that we wanted to be in, but from a boat standpoint, we've definitely taken the steps forward that we wanted to. We're racing against the fastest of the fast, and the best of the world, and I'm proud of us. It's just hard when a good race and your best just isn't good enough to put you where you want to be, but I couldn't be prouder of these women. They laid it all out there, and we still have one more race to go, we've got nothing to lose, and we're just going to lay it all out there.
row2k: Does the women's fours event maybe not get quite as much credit as it deserves? Looking at the crews going by, this is really hard.
Chase: A lot of countries, this is their priority boat. It is definitely one of the toughest fields out there.
Maddie Wanamaker: It's new, too. It's a great equalizer for women, and even though this isn't a great outcome for us, I think it's cool to be part of a historic return to the Olympics for this event. You've got to hand it to the crews that are coming out there and doing really well, and I think it's great to see smaller countries get their foot in the door with the women's four.
Luczak: Well said. Totally agree.
Chase: And it's another opportunity. If the four wasn't an event, we wouldn't be here. It's another opportunity for more women's rowers around the world to get a chance to race at the Olympics.
Luczak: Yeah, I think we're all very honored; it's a pretty historic moment. It's gender equity for rowing. I came back to the sport partially because of that. There were four more seats, there was the gender parity. Personally, I'm done with the sport after our final race, and it's cool that it's just going to continue to grow for women's rowing. Like Kenny said, so many more countries are involved, and I think the US is going to continue to build, too. We're all disappointed because I think that we did all put out a great effort and I know we can have a bit more speed, but I think we did a really great job.
Chase: It's an honor to be able to race against these people; they are the best, and we are among them, so I'm just proud to be able to call ourselves Olympians, and we are representing the US in the women's four for the first time in many years. We can say that for the rest of our lives, and even though it wasn't the result that we wanted, it's still part of us and a part of our rowing journeys.
row2k: Do you feel like you're already getting ready to climb back on the horse, and how do you do that; how would you as the experienced athletes advise young athletes who experience a tough race early in their careers?
Wanamaker: You just have to give yourself an afternoon to think about it and feel your feelings, and then you just have to regroup, scrape yourself back together, and get back on the line the same mentality you had going into the race. We're in the rebuilding process right now but coming back for the B-final nice and strong.
Claire Collins: This is how I like to approach training, and it's kind of helpful to do it at races - putting the blinders on and just focusing on the improvements, whether that's a technical thing, or it could be something super minute that you might not think might have a huge impact. Just narrowing down the focus can block out all the other emotions or distractions to focus on the things you can control and improve.
Chase: I've always tried to tell myself that you learn more from your losses than you do from your wins, even if it's a really slow erg that you didn't perform on or a race. There's always something to take away from it and grow and move forward. So, if you're a young athlete who doesn't perform the way that you wanted to, there's something from your experience to take away and grow from that.
Luczak: This is the moment where, whether you are going into the A-final or the B-final where you just have grit as a boat. If you're a junior racer and you're at nationals, you can be proud of the fact that you're at nationals and you made it to that point, but I mean, just realizing that's your last to the finals - your last go - so just go and give it your all together.
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July 25, 2021 at 05:59PM
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Tokyo 202One: Interview with the US Women's Four - row2k.com
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