Rowing on Christmas Day? Of course!

Tufte won't be idle in the cold weather

Christmas a day of eating, gift opening and rest? Not really. World Rowing reveals the 25th day of December through the eyes of the rowers who helped make 2005 an exciting year in rowing.

?On Christmas Eve I'm going to train on the erg for two hours and some biking and some power training,? says the relentless single sculler Olaf Tufte of Norway. ?And then I'm going to eat a lot.? On the 25th Tufte will be back training in the morning; ?long distance easy training.?

Reflecting back on 2005 Olympic Champion Tufte finished the year as silver medallist and says the semi-final at the World Rowing Championships was his highlight. ?First man (in the single) to go under 6:30. It's not registered as a record (due to the current at Gifu), but I'm still the first under it,? says Tufte.

Denmark's rowing phenomenon Thomas Ebert announced that 2005 would be his rowing swansong. He then went out on top. ?With the gold in Japan I really feel that I've ended my rowing career in the best way that I could,? says Ebert who won the lightweight men's pair with friend and rowing partner Bo Helleberg.

But retirement is a relative word when you've known rowing for practically your whole life. ?I'm still training some, 3-4 times a week, running, biking and even a little rowing!?

Promising to come back for Olympics number six, Beijing 2008, Australia's most successful rower James Tomkins has been away from the water but hasn't been sitting idly. Christmas for Tomkins will still be energetic: ?Chase kids, play with kids, discipline kids, dress kids, go to family lunch, unwrap, eat, drink, chase kids, play with kids, discipline kids. Do it all again that night.?

Coppola is now aiming for Beijing 2008

Relative newcomer, Steve Coppola sat in three seat of the United States men's eight and at the age of 21 became a 2005 World Champion. Coppola's rowing has developed as a collegiate athlete and in October his Princeton University crew won the top eights race at the head of the Charles, beating international crews from Italy, Great Britain and the Netherlands.

A psychology student, Coppola is analysing a couple of Christmas day scenarios: ?I can look at it two ways: 1. others won't be working out so now I can get ahead of them, or 2. everyone is going to be doing something so I should too so that I don't fall behind.? Either way it's going to be a long steady state ergo piece for the champion.

Fellow American and US Female Athlete of the Year, Michelle Guerette made news this year when she eliminated the 17-year medal absence in the women's single for her country by winning bronze at the World Rowing Championships. Guerette remembers clearly, ?Right around the 250-to-go in Gifu, I knew I was going to make it onto that medals dock. That kind of awareness only happens in a few races and I'll always remember the moment.?

Guerette is clear on her Christmas plans. ?I will gladly spend the day perfecting my fork-to-mouth skills,? she says, but admits that the plan is to get the good work in beforehand. Guerette is also eyeing up a New Years' midnight 5km run through Central Park in New York for a bit of cross-training.

From autograph signing to altitude for Drysdale

Tufte's nemesis, Mahe Drysdale of New Zealand and recent training partner ? they were recently spotted putting in the kilometres (52 of them one day) in Seville, Spain ? will be trying out the altitude of the French Alps. ?I plan to be skiing for the majority of Christmas day to make room for Christmas dinner,? says Drysdale who is currently training in Great Britain.

Another foreigner training in Great Britain, Germany's Sebastian Thormann is attending Cambridge University to continue his medical research and aims to race in the 2006 Oxford-Cambridge Boat Race. ?I will train on Christmas day,? says Thormann who will be at home in Germany and on the water helping out some young talent from his club. ?It will be a long steady state: 100 minutes. Nothing special.?

Great Britain's most successful woman, Katherine Grainger is leaving the training centre for a few days."I'll be at home in Scotland so will have my fingers crossed for a white Christmas and then there's always the option of sledging or playing with our dog in the snow." Grainger won gold at Gifu in the women's quad and calls it the highlight of her year.

Sjoerd Hamburger of the Netherlands had to take a quick look at his schedule to see the Christmas day plan. ?A day off is certainly not the case,? he notes. Christmas Eve will be normal with two sessions and Christmas day will begin with one-and-a-half hour land training, either cross-country skiing or an ergo piece, before travelling to his parents for dinner.

Hamburger's Under 23 title in the single was one 2005 highlight for the 22 year old, but the semi-final during the World Rowing Championships in Gifu topped it. ?The race was so intense, and everybody had to go to full speed to win. It was exciting, super fast, close and great rowing by everyone.?

Cech staying near water

Training in South Africa, the continent's most successful rowers, Don Cech and Ramon Di Clemente are taking it easy. ?Having Italian parents you can understand that we will sit round a table and eat for the whole day,? says Di Clemente who adds that he will make a point of being tired so that he can take that day off. Cech, meanwhile, will be feasting with family near a lake so he's hoping to put in a paddle before the meal.

American masters rower Liz Stone, 78, completed her eleventh Head of the Charles this year in Boston, US and is currently recovering from her last race, a 5,000-metre head race in November in a quad. ?Several joints took exception to some defensive manoeuvres we made,? Stone admits. Stone will stick to easy erging until mid-January then later in 2006 she will again gear up for the Head of the Charles. ?My game plan seldom includes passing people, only reading the minds of those who are overtaking me.?

Here's to clear minds, successful game plans and happy holidays.

Related Links
Tufte's own challenge
Thormann research and the Boat Race
Hamburger in the movies
Cech and Di Clemente back in the boat
Stone goes to Head of the Charles

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