Canada's top coxswain to return

Leslie Thompson
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When you have been through six Olympic cycles, competed at five Olympic Games and are about to put retirement to rest to face another four years of competition the decision to make a comeback is made with the cautious awareness of experience.

Canada’s uber-coxswain Lesley Thompson-Willie pauses and chooses her words carefully. “Comeback? I haven’t come back yet. That’s a bit premature. I’ve just declared an intent.”

Thompson-Willie is one of Canada’s most decorated rowers. As top coxswain for the women’s national team her career stretches back to 1980 when she was chosen to cox the women’s four. But with Canada boycotting the 1980 Olympics Thompson-Willie had to wait until 1984 to race at the Olympics. In Los Angeles she picked up her first Olympic medal – silver in the coxed four.

Since then she has collected three more Olympic medals, including gold in 1992. Six World Championship medals also adorn her collection. Amongst them is a gold medal from 1991.

Going into the 2000 Sydney Olympics Thompson-Willie had already decided this would be her last Olympic Games. She had been in the sport for twenty years and it was time for a break.

All of this changed when Thompson-Willie started discussing with Canada’s head women’s coach, Al Morrow, about Beijing 2008 and making another Olympic team. Morrow was encouraging. “I think her decision was based on the competitive side to her personality, she loves to compete,” says Morrow.

“I miss the sport,” says Thompson-Willie. “It’s an exciting time to be in rowing with scientific developments coming out and training methods getting better. I believe we (Canada) have the capability of going quick.”
 
Admired for her skills by coach and rowers alike Thompson-Willie says she developed her talent as a coxswain by drawing from her own athletic experience. “I was aggressive and motivated,” says the former top level gymnast.

“She is probably one of the most thorough and meticulous people I have ever met,” says Morrow. “She has the complete confidence of all her crews that she is doing her job as well as can be done.” Olympic gold medalist Marnie McBean rowed when Thompson-Willie was coxing and praised her ability. “She doesn’t get overly excited, it’s her tone that tells you how it’s going,” says McBean. “She doesn’t swear, scream or embellish. She just calls it accurately – always – good news or bad news and you come to trust that implicitly.”

Thompson-Willie has also rowed in a number of boats and understands the different indicators a coxswain must use to determine boat feel as, she explains, the cues are more subtle for the coxswain than those the rower feels. “It takes longer to get the cues as a cox. A rower will feel the balance go before the cox will feel it.”

In racing situations Thompson-Willie is known to pepper her dialogue with various superlatives. “Sometimes I’m a little bit insulting about other crews’ technique,” she admits but won’t elaborate. Occasionally Thompson-Willie will stretch the truth to motivate her crew. With a solid memory of every single final she has coxed Thompson-Willie describes the 1991 World Championship women’s eights final when her crew was down to USSR “by a lot.”

McBean was in the boat and remembers exactly the moment that they began to move on the leading crew. “Lesley, very calmly said into the coxbox; ‘Okay, you can do this but we’ve got to do this now.’ Each one of us stayed in the boat and did what she said -together. You could tell from her tone things were working.”

“I didn’t tell them how far behind we were. I told them they were second and this is what we were going to do,” says Thompson-Willie. The call worked and even Thompson-Willie was surprised at her boat’s move. Canada made up the difference and gained the lead with less than 10 strokes to row. They won the gold.

Despite Thompson-Willie’s experience she does not imagine that it will be easy to walk back onto the national team. “The past is the past and I have to fit into the system for the next four years. The past is just a tool to do a better job if I make it,” she adds. “I have the most experience but there are a number of good coxswains about. I can’t underestimate the others.” The others includes current team coxswain Sarah Pape who has coxed the women’s eight since 2001.

Cautiousness comes through again when Thompson-Willie tries to think in a four year block. “I know what it takes and for me it’s better just to break it down bit by bit, year by year. The task seems more achievable year to year.”

Thompson-Willie will also have to face making weight concerns. With her natural weight at about 55 kilograms, getting to the required 50 kilo weight minimum has been a struggle in the past. It has been the main source of angst for Thompson-Willie’s mother who has had to watch the periods of weight loss over the years. “She thinks I’m a lost cause,” says Thompson-Willie.

For now Thompson-Willie is easing back into the coxing scene as the Canadian women’s team is currently training in smaller boats. “It is possible there might not be an eight. We never know the depth of the programme until further into the season,” says Thompson-Willie.

At this stage Thompson-Willie is simply taking one year at a time. “Right now having a four year goal fits into my life really well.”

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