Justin Moore shares prerace thoughts on World Rowing Jr. Championships gold medal race

BRIVE-LA-GAILLARDE, FRANCE (8/7/09) -- Less than 24 hours before the gold medal race for his US 8+ boat at the World Rowing Junior Championships Eph women’s and US Junior Women’s head coach Justin Moore took time out to share his pre-race thoughts.

What preparation has your boat done since advancing to the Finals?
“We have done nothing outside the ordinary since advancing. We have rowed only once per day and stayed rested and hydrated the rest of the time. The temperatures were hitting 100 yesterday afternoon, but after training in Princeton [NJ], between 10am and 4pm, we were well prepared to handle these kinds of temperatures.”

What did you learn from watching the repechage?
“Going into the heats we believed that we drew the tougher of the two.   Yesterday's reps demonstrated that this was true. New Zealand raced another good race, going out hard and controlling throughout. We expect them to be better prepared to race us in the finals. Romania clearly has another gear. Their other crews raced well today in the semis. I am truly excited to see what our women can do in this field.”

Is the middle 1K the key to winning the race and the gold medal?
“It is unlikely that we will be faster than either Romania or New Zealand in the first 500 meters. If we want to win the gold, we'll have to get out ahead of them at some other point in the race.  I feel good about the rhythms the crew has been generating during training.  This should help our middle K.”

“The Junior Worlds are held each year and the US 8+ won the gold for the first time ever last year. Now we are attempting to repeat, which is always a great challenge.”

Did any of this year’s US 8+ row for the gold last year?
“The coxswain Chelsea Lucas, Molly Hamrick (2) and Brandy Herald were in the 8+ that won last year.”

Is your boat feeling any pressure?
“Absolutely. This is the World Championships. I believe it would be unnatural for us not to be feeling pressure.  What I keep reminding the women, is that pressure is not a bad thing. If pressure can turn a lump of coal into a diamond, I wonder what it might be able to do for us.”

“I’ve just returned from the race course where I watched our women's 2- row their way into the A final, fending off a tremendous final push from Bulgaria. This is only the second time in the history of the World Junior Championships that the US Junior Women's Sweep have placed all three boats (8+,4-, 2-) into the A Finals. I think this reflects well on the developmental system that is in place, but also on the athletes, coaches and training program put into place this summer.  I'm very excited to see how these 15 women represent the United States tomorrow on the water.”

A Final 8+ field -- 2009 World Rowing Junior Championships, Sat., Aug. 8:

United States

Hungary

New Zealand

Germany

Russia

France