Turning Silver Into Gold

    The U.S. women‘s eight did just that Sunday, leading from the start and then holding off the Netherlands and two-time defending champion Romania at the finish to win their first Olympic championship since 1984. Minutes later, the U.S. men's eight, defending Olympic champions, won the bronze.

     "Obviously, we wanted to be ahead," said Erin Cafaro, who rowed in the women's bow seat. "We got faster every 500 meters, or at least it felt like that to us."

     The American shell led Canada by .73 seconds at the 500-meter buoy,  slipped ahead of the Romanian boat by 1.78 seconds at the half-way mark, and still led Romania by 2.05 with 500 meters to row.

    "I just kept saying, ‘Believe and trust,'" coxswain Mary Whipple said. "We knew we could do it if we didn't get in our own way.

     "Today, we just believed, and we were determined. Our boat is named The Hunter, and somebody said, ‘Isn't it The Hunted?' No, we are hunting that finish line all the way."

     The Netherlands overtook Romania in the final split to finish second, 1.88  seconds behind the U.S., and Romania finished third, .03 seconds further back.

     "We had all the confidence you could have," Whipple said. "Of course, there  are race-day jitters, and we  had butterflies, but we just wanted to confine them. We knew today we just had to lay down the race we knew we could  row and made sure it happened."

     Midway through the race, Whipple reminded her teammates what they had at stake.

     "Before we left Princeton, we gathered and watched that 1984 race," Whipple said. "I made the call halfway through the race, saying that it was just like 1984, and that we couldn't let them down. Then we just motored ahead.

     "We learned a lot from Athens. I think the group from '04 built a foundation for this team, and these girls have stepped it up. It's taken about 13 or 14 girls to build this eight."

     Four years ago, Dan Walsh was also in Athens, but he watched from the sidelines as a men's eight alternate.

    He had a better view this time - a seat in the racing shell and a spot on the medal stand.

     "It was a good race," Walsh said. "We had a rough heat earlier, and we came together as a boat, persevered and embraced the Olympic experience."

     Defending world champion Canada finished first, 1.22 seconds ahead of Great Britain and 1.45 seconds in front of the U.S.

      "Those guys had to take the title from us," Walsh said. "We didn't give it to them. We could have rowed a little bit better, but bronze medal at the Olympics isn't bad."

     It was an entirely different Olympic experience four years ago watching the men's eight from the sidelines, not rowing with them.

     "It was a bitter-sweet moment for me," Walsh said. "I had to be part of the team but I did not get to race at all. There was definitely a lot of adversity I overcame to make the team.

     "As an alternate, I practiced in a two-man boat in the pair and practiced a couple of times in the eight when someone got sick but no racing.  It's the only team sport where the alternates don't get medals."

     At the 500-meter mark, the American shell was dead-last in the six-boat field, trailing fifth-place Poland by .4 seconds after a slow start.

     "You get nervous in any race, particularly at this level," Walsh said. "For this race, I was the most relaxed, most confident I've ever been.

     "Besides the normal butterflies, I just focused in, kept my eyes on Steven Coppola's back and listened to (coxswain) Marcus McElhenney make the calls and push down when we needed to push."

    By the time the U.S. reached the halfway mark in the 2,000-meter race, it had climbed into fourth place, 3.93 seconds behind the front-running Canadians.

     At the 1,500-meter mark, the Americans were in third place, only .31 seconds behind runner-up Great Britain. They were 1.45 seconds behind Canada at the finish.

    By then, Walsh's parents and his siblings and their families back home had begun to celebrate.

     "I'm sure they're all watching at the house right now," Walsh said. "A friend of mine from high school who owns a local bar has promised to throw my parents a party.

      "NBC isn't showing the race until 2:30 p.m., east coast time, but I'm sure they watched it on on-line.  They know. I'm sure there are tears over there right now."