07 Dec 2011

Another first for FISA award winners

Reading Time: 4 Minutes

Caroline & Georgina at the World Rowing Forum

Caroline and Georgina Evers-Swindell of New Zealand have racked up a whole bunch of firsts in their rowing career. They are first New Zealand women to ever win an Olympic gold medal in rowing. The first New Zealanders to win the World Rowing Championships three times in a row. The first twins to ever win the women’s double. And, if all goes to plan, they will be the only New Zealand women rowers to win two Olympic gold medals. Last week, they became the first female crew to win the FISA Female Crew of the Year award for rowing twice.

Caroline and Georgina took a few minutes out of their busy schedule the day they received their award at the World Rowing Forum in Istanbul, Turkey to talk about their Olympic experience, life with coach Richard Tonks (2005 FISA Coach of the Year) and where they are heading from here.

FISA: How much of your gold medal winning final at Athens do you remember?

Georgina: Not much.
Caroline: Just that it was really hard physically.

FISA: Describe your race plan.

Georgina: We have a really basic race plan. Go hard at the start and a few technique calls. I’m in bow so I call the race plan and we can adapt it to react to what other crews do.
Caroline: Every stroke is hard. George will call one technique word.

FISA: Were there any surprises for you during the race?

Caroline: No surprises, just after the race when we saw the time sheet and I didn’t realise that the Germans were that close.

FISA: What did you feel at the end of the race?

Caroline: I just felt satisfied, a little relieved.

FISA: Could you hear the crowd?

Georgina: The only time I heard the crowd was during the warm up. I was unaware of any sound during the race. At the finish I was so knackered, I could just hear my breathing.

FISA: Looking towards Beijing 2008, now that you have an Olympic gold, what motivates you to keep going?

Georgina: Just the challenge to experience it again, but we’ve got shorter term goals.
Caroline: We’re definitely taking one year at a time, but the motivation to get to Beijing is the same as to get to Athens.

FISA: You were beaten at the Lucerne BearingPoint Rowing World Cup this year (by Bulgaria), how did you handle that?

Caroline: It wasn’t enjoyable at the time. Georgina: But you learn a lot from losing. Caroline: You are always trying to improve your training, but this gave us more incentive to change, to do something major. Georgina: We made some technical changes.

FISA: You had disappointment in 1999 and 2000 when you missed out on qualifying for the Sydney Olympics (the eight, then the double), what kept you going?

Georgina: If we hadn’t won at Vienna (Rowing World Cup 2000) we might not have been keen to continue. But because we had, we got a wee a taste of success and that kept us in it.

FISA: Do you have any pre-race rituals?

Georgina: We always have Weetbix before we race, four each, one for every 500 metres.
Caroline: I listen to music but nothing in particular.

The twins with FISA’s events director Svetla Otzetova

FISA: How would you describe your relationship with your coach (Richard Tonks)?

Georgina: He’s the coach, we’re definitely not mates. That’s what works.
Caroline: He’s such a legend. There’s so much respect.

FISA: How would you describe his style of coaching?

Georgina: He doesn’t say much but when he talks you listen.
Caroline: He’s unique, he’s not like other coaches. Georgina: The environment he creates, his technical eye.
Caroline: I have the utmost confidence in him. I’d never question him. I’ve never questioned anything.

FISA: And his reaction if you questioned him?

Georgina: I would hate to know!

FISA: What is the hardest workout that you’ve done?

Caroline: 20 x 500 metres, stop, turn boat around and repeat.

FISA: Do you like cross training?

Caroline: I quite like running. Georgina: Yes, running and cycling time trials ? 45km. We do three hour pack rides in winter. Richard’s got the whole elite squad doing it. The squad’s been doing two a week since Japan.

FISA: Is there any disadvantage in coming from the Southern hemisphere domestic season into the Northern hemisphere racing season?

Georgina: No, we don’t know any different. During the domestic season we do long steady state rows and then weekend regattas are just piecework. We don’t taper for (New Zealand) nationals, so the year is similar to European countries.

FISA: As twins do you ever have different motivations?

Caroline: We’re pretty much the same.
Georgina: We’ve both wanted to carry on rowing and we’re not thinking about after Beijing. If it happens it happens.

And the future?
Georgina: Richard reckons we’ve got four Olympics in us.

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