Men's Eight - Tokyo Olympic Rowing Preview (2021)

We assembled a team of experts in the form of Martin Cross, Adam Kreek (Olympic Champion and Canadian Broadcasting Corporation Commentator) and Camilla Hadland (World Rowing & Henley Royal Regatta Commentator) to help guide your viewing of the Tokyo Olympic Rowing by looking back at recent results, sharing their hunches and telling us the latest gossip from the towpath!
See the full breakdown of their predictions here: ludum.com/blog/news-sport-ins...
Ludum is the training management and performance analysis tool for teams and we bring you this episode of Crossy's Corner. Sign up to a Free 30 Day Trial with Ludum at: ludum.com/free-trial/

[@judeobrian8856]

Kiwis gold boom!

[@henkoosterink8744]

GBR was kicked in the ass by the Dutch and New zealand. I think no medal for the British.

[@AlexinOslo]

They need to create a crossover program: take NCAA basketball players, who fell just short of the pros, over 6'4" with an Olympic level V02 max and train them to row. Tall basketball players have a high strength to weight ratio, endurance and sense of teamwork. It would be like Cool Runnings for rowing. America needs to become a dominate force in rowing once again. Perhaps the richer NBA franchises or Michael Jordan and Lebron James could be persuaded to fund such a program.

[@AxelPRC]

They're such different sports and teaching a bunch of basketball players to endure the grind of rowing will be interesting to see 😂 Height is only one component of a much bigger more complex picture. 4 of the guys in the NZ 8+ than won were easily under 6ft 4" and one barely cracks 6ft

[@AlexinOslo]

@@AxelPRC I rowed lightweight in college. Height is a start and gives a marked mechanical advantage. VO2 max, equipment, coaching and practice matter as well. It has to be trained of could. Something has gone really wrong in US Mens rowing. America is a nation of 315M+ people. We should be able to find 8 guys and cox to smoke NZ, Australia, UK or Germany any given day. Basketball players looking for a second life is a good start.

[@AxelPRC]

@@AlexinOslo you have the athletes. It's the training and technical knowledge instilled in them from the start of their careers that's lacking. People tend to cast blame on more internationals being part of college systems but USA rowing needs to look at high school rowing and realise it's not at the same standard as the UK, NZ, AUS or Germany. Sure height is a factor but it's far from the biggest factor