Crew clinic draws energetic crowd

Deepa Bharath

When she’s rowing, Aerial Gilbert forgets she’s blind.

The San Francisco woman rowed competitively when she was in

college. She lost her sight 16 years ago. But she went back to rowing

right away.

“It’s a different experience after I lost my sight,” Gilbert said.

“Teamwork is very important in any sport, especially in rowing. But

it’s got a different meaning when you can’t see.”

Gilbert and Eileen Hansen, who have been rowing partners for 10

years, came down to Newport-Mesa with 12 others to participate in the

Iron Oarsman rowing camp held for the first time in Xeno Muller’s

indoor rowing gymnasium in Costa Mesa from Friday night through

Sunday.

Not only were the campers in for grueling workouts Saturday and

Sunday, but they also got expert advice and lessons in rowing

technique from Olympic rowing champions including Muller, who won a

gold medal in the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta.

Participants came from all over the country. Most of them were

rowers who were training by themselves, said Marnie McBean from

Toronto, Canada, who won two Olympic gold medals in Barcelona in 1992

and a gold and a bronze in Atlanta .

“Most of these rowers are training without a coach,” she said.

“They’re trying to take it to the next level. So they have a lot of

questions.”

Champion rowers rarely get together in a gym and compare notes,

said Rob Waddell from Cambridge, New Zealand, a gold medalist at the

2000 Olympics in Sydney, Australia.

“You don’t tell people how you won or why you won,” he said. “It

always remains as a secret with you. That’s why this is so unique.”

On Friday night, campers watched videotape of each Olympic athlete

winning their Olympic event, describing what was going through their

minds at the time.

“It was truly inspiring,” said Forest Sanders, an aspiring rower

from Alabama. “It’s great to know what their mind-set is at that

level.”

Bob Orsi, a Corona del Mar resident who competes on the senior

circuit, said he was impressed by the champions’ level of knowledge.

“A lot of people look at these guys and think they do it because

they’re big and strong and they’re born that way,” he said. “But it’s

more than that. The technical aspects they see are minuscule but very

important. Their knowledge is just unbelievable.”

It was a challenge to get all the Olympians to Costa Mesa at one

time, but it’s proved to be a tremendous experience, Muller said.

Thomas Lange of Germany, who won Olympic gold medals in 1988 and 1992

and a bronze in 1996, was his idol growing up, he added.

On Saturday Lange was at the gym, walking around and watching

participants closely as they rowed. The pros corrected rowers’

posture, gave them pointers on how to improve their technique and

offered words of encouragement.

Muller also motivated participants as he took them through the

workout.

“His enthusiasm spills over to everybody,” Hansen said.

For the champions, it was a pleasant surprise to learn about each

other’s technique.

“The greatest thing about this camp is the sharing,” Muller said.

“We never get to share.”