Reaching for success with both hands

Guerette's silver inspires scullers

"[Competing in the 2012 Olympics] would be a question of support -- and certainty." - Michelle Guerette, US sculler

It wasn't so much the US women's eight winning its first Olympic gold medal in two dozen years. Or the men's eight coming out of last place to grab the bronze.

What caught the US Olympic Committee's eye in Beijing this summer was sculler Michelle Guerette's silver, the first podium finish by an American woman in two decades.

"Having Guerette win that medal was an inspiration," said Steve Roush, the USOC's chief of sports performance, who has been pushing for more rowing medals from the small boats.

Guerette's performance also was a breakthrough for the American scullers, who made three other finals at the Games with the women's double of Megan Kalmoe and Ellen Tomek and the two quads. Now the question, and the challenge, is whether they can take it to the next level by 2012.

"In some events, the jump from fifth to third is substantial," observed Matt Imes, US Rowing's director of high performance.

Virtually every country in the world that is serious about sculling can put at least one podium-level boat on the water. In Beijing, eight nations won the eight golds and 19 won at least one medal. In the US, where the emphasis traditionally has been on sweep (i.e. one-oar) rowing, sculling has provided little precious metal at Olympus.

The men haven't won a medal in the single since 1956 (John Kelly Jr.), in the double since 1984 (Brad Lewis-Paul Enquist), or in the quad since 1996. The women have never managed one in the double and haven't done it in the quad since 1984.

What Guerette proved in Beijing was that it's possible for a Yank pulling two oars to run the flag up the pole. Getting a few more Americans to join her, though, means identifying more prospects earlier, persuading them to switch from the sweep side, and keeping them around longer, which means bigger subsidies.

"It means more than a subsistence living," said Harry Parker, who sculled in the 1960 Games and coached the 1984 squad. "The good Europeans, the good British are really professionals. You don't stay in this game if you're on a subsistence income."

That's Guerette's issue looking toward 2012, when she figures to be one of the favorites. Her Beijing result, where Guerette came out of fifth place midway through and missed gold by half a second, was a dream.

"I had a great four years and a great race on the right day," she said.

Is she willing to stick around for another four years for the chance to win gold in London?

"Is it doable? Yeah," reckoned Guerette, who finished fifth with Olympic teammate Caryn Davies in yesterday's championship doubles at the Head of the Charles Regatta. "For me, it would be a question of support - and certainty. I've pieced it together every year."

Guerette, who is from Bristol, Conn., and trains on the Charles, received $31,600 this year - $22,000 from her Olympic-arranged job at the Home Depot in Watertown and $9,600 in subsidies from US Rowing - plus a $15,000 bonus from the USOC for her silver medal. Most of her European rivals are heavily subsidized, as are the Chinese.

"But I wouldn't want a system like some of the countries I race," Guerette said.

The support for US scullers is much better than it used to be, with more cash, better coaching, and access to training camps. But odds are that the subsidies won't get much better.

"I don't see our financial situation changing any time soon," said Imes. "We do have limited funds. We have some tough decisions to make."

For US Rowing, the priority is to develop a deeper pool of scullers.

"The trick is to get enough people to do it so you can find the ones who can," said Parker, who rowed for Penn's Henley champs before switching. "You can't predict who can do it. It's a different motion, a different feel."

The federation is stressing sculling only for the first several months of fall training.

"There's a reluctance from some on the sweep side: 'I don't know how to scull,' " acknowledged Imes.

Not that it can't be done in a short time. Guerette switched out of the national eight and made the Olympic quad the following year. Wyatt Allen won a gold medal in the 2004 eight and rowed the single in the world regatta the next summer.

"You need to have a little success out of the blocks," said Charley Butt, who coaches Guerette.

Allen, though, went back to the eight and won a bronze in Beijing.

"A lot of them say, 'I've put in three years, I want to feel that I gave it my best shot at a medal,' " said Imes. "That's always going to be a challenge for us."

Besides being the glamour event, the eights are where the medals have been for the Americans - both the men and women made the podium at the last two Games and each won gold. Sculling presents longer odds.

"You can make the final," said Butt. "But cracking the top three is another matter."

No US female sculler had done that at the Games since Concord native Anne Marden won silver in 1988. If Guerette stays around for another quadrennium, she could win gold, which no American of either gender has done since Jack Kelly in 1920.

"I think she wants to continue," said Butt. "She just has to find a way to make it work."

Next time, odds are that Harvard graduate Guerette will be juggling law school in addition to piecing together training and travel. Taking a year or two off from the water isn't an option. At this level it's all in, all the time.

"An Olympic medal," Guerette mused. "You shouldn't be able to do it in your spare time."