RowingRelated

The weather has held up (for the most part) at Eton Dorney over the first three days of racing, with the wind pushing crews down the course in record time–taking nothing away from the rowers, of course. There is a ton of chat about the GB men's four and women's double over here, as you might imagine–today's events certainly didn't take away from the excitement, as the Australian women's double, featuring arguably the best overall athlete on the women's side at the Olympic Regatta, Kim Crow , won their heat, just after Katherine Grainger and Anna Watkins stormed down the course to victory in 6:44. This was followed by the Australian men's four, built around three-time Olympic gold medalist Drew Ginn , looking absolutely outstanding in the first heat of three heats, winning in another Olympic Best Time of 5:47 despite leading by open water seemingly from 250m into the race. The GB crew then took center stage, with three of the four that won gold in B...

There's no disputing that the Kiwi national rowing team is fast–in fact, Rowing New Zealand is the top squad in the world in terms of medals per capita. However, despite their clear dedication, intense training, and aggressive approach on the water, they also know how to relax, have fun, and keep from taking everything too seriously. The above video show just that, and was published just hours after Hamish Bond and Eric Murray destroyed the previous world best time in the men's pair by six seconds . Though the women's quad suffered a devastating setback in the final strokes of their repechage earlier today, snapping a blade after having comeback from sixth into third (and into qualifying position), the rest of the Kiwi team have posted solid performances, and looks on pace for another great year. More updates to follow from London in the next RR Olympics Blog, and, in the meantime, take a look at the Sunday and Monday race reports posted to RowingNews.com. -RR

Trip to the course:  The first day of the 2012 Olympic Regatta was one for the ages -- quite a show that these athletes put on and a fantastic way to kick off the racing at the Games. Getting to the course was quite an adventure this morning -- hop on the train at 6:52am, change trains, arrive at Windsor and Eton Riverside, queue for a double-decker bus in front of Windsor Castle, arrive at the temporary bus terminal (field), walk roughly one mile, queue to enter the venue, walk another mile, arrive at the entrance to the race course, and, finally, walk however many meters up the course it is to your seat/office arrangement. Certainly pays to bring comfortable shoes. (Photo gallery included above from the trip to the course.) Olympic racing begins: The weather was ideal today and the times reflected that -- four new Olympic best times, one of which was also a new world's best time (the incredible Kiwi pair's 6:08 performance). While this boat is undoubtedly the favori...

The German men's eight has been nothing short of dominant for the past four years–controlled, smooth, and efficient, the crew has set the standard for speed since Beijing. That winning streak will see its greatest challenge at Eton-Dorney this week and the next, as the DRV (Deutscher Ruderverband) look to put an exclamation point on an outstanding quadrennium. Can anyone beat them? If anyone's going to do it, then the challenger will have to match the speed of the German eight in the second 500m. Obviously, the Germans know how to get off the line–they've gone wire-to-wire a number of times over the past four years en route to victory, often posting times faster than 1:20 in the first 500m. But, looking over the data from the past three seasons, as well as the World Rowing Cups this year, it's more often the second 500m where they stake their claim and build their margin over the field. The fact is, everyone has a slower second 500m than first 500m, but the differen...

After a hectic 24 hours, I've arrived safely in London and have set up in Barnes, where I'll be staying for the duration of the trip (which will mean heading out to Eton on the train each day for the rowing events at Dorney Lake). It's fantastic being back in town–having lived in London from 2007-2008, this is a chance to visit friends and old haunts, as well as experience something entirely new. There is evidence of the Games throughout the city, as you might expect, with many of the main streets decorated with banners, sidewalk (pavement) art, and shop owners doing all they can (given the strict enforcement of the London 2012 trademark/branding from LOCOG) to celebrate the Olympics with window displays and posters. Of note: Heathrow wasn't crowded when I arrived–not even a long queue for customs–and the number of London 2012 employees on hand was impressive. The trip into town went much more smoothly than it might have had I been on an official Olympics bus –rea...

This week's video comes to us from France, showcasing the French men's quadruple sculls (Adrien Hardy, Pierre-Jean Peltier, Matthieu Androdias, and Benjamin Chabanet) as these athletes enter the final stages of training for the Games in London. Not only are there some very nice shots of sculling, the video is accompanied by the Ride of the Valkyries (at least to start), and features a quick look at three seat Pierre-Jean Peltier's basketball skills (at roughly 0:48). Then, we get right down to business–with one switch from last season's C Final-winning combination, this crew appears to have found some speed this year, having taken fourth at the first World Rowing Cup in Belgrade, and having edged out the Czech Republic (by roughly one tenth of a second) for second place behind Estonia at the Final Olympic Qualification Regatta. The crew stumbled a little at the Munich World Cup stop, placing 11th overall, but will look to better that result and continue the momentum ...

Much of the U.S. Olympic Rowing Team is now on the scene in London, and training on the Olympic course at Eton. Conditions have been a solid introduction to the course, with some wind, chop, clouds and rain–some of which is evident in the above video. Shot during a session on Dorney Lake, the video shows bow seat Tom Peszek's view of the course, and stroke (and RR interviewee) Silas Stafford , as the duo rows from the finish up to the start line, with a few drills along the way, and a brief glimpse of the U.S. women's eight in the starting queue. Racing is now just over a week away, with the heats for the women's pair, women's quad, men's eight, men's double, men's lightweight four, men's quad, men's pair, and men's and women's single (in that order) set for Saturday, July 28th, 2012. For a complete schedule, please follow this link to NBCOlympics.com , and check out more videos from Tom Peszek on his YouTube Channel . Looking forward ...

Trafalgar Square, London (Photo: B. Kitch) Last week, we caught up with former Cambridge Blue and U.S. men's pair stroke, Silas Stafford, about his favorite London haunts, and, this week, we've asked defending Olympic champion Pete Reed of Team GB to share his thoughts on the matter. It looks like the Stafford and Reed agree in several cases! Here are Pete's thoughts on the top places to visit in London, in no particular order: 1) La Trompette , Devonshire Road in Chiswick, W4 I can only afford to go there once or twice a year, but I've never had a single course there which is anything less than perfect. This is my favourite restaurant by a considerable margin. 2) Trafalgar Square With Lord Nelson's immortal monument [see photo above] commanding the whole West End and as a Royal Naval Officer, this is a place of personal significance to me as well as a beautiful square in the city's cultural epicentre. 3) Knightsbridge From the world fam...