"In your preparation for the Olympics, what were elements of your race plan
that you focused on? How detailed was your 2000-meter race plan?"
If you want to watch the actual race footage, you can find it on google video.
Pain is my least favorite part of competitive rowing and that is why I really enjoyed putting in long hours of training, in order to be fitter and stronger then others when the push for the finish line would near. Throughout my single scull career, all my wake up call. Because I had “beaten” everyone throughout the week, directly or indirectly by time, my motivation to do it again was fizzling. By telling Marty I knew he was going to let me have it. He put it very simply. “XENO, you have nothing to lose. This is the second time at the Olympics, but your first time in an Olympic final. Don’t focus on the gold medal outcome, work yourself up. If you are in sixth, work to go for fifth, then down to fourth, then secure bronze, go for silver, and if all goes well, you have power left to charge for gold.” He relit my will to get the job done and primed me for the final gold medal run. My gold medal race plan was, conserve energy, work the first half with Cop. Add torque to the stroke rate at 700 meters to go (like Thomas Lange did in 1992 and 1988), finally attack the last thirty strokes the same way I had been training every third workout throughout my month of training before the Olympics.
"The day of the final, before arriving at the course, how did you prepare for
your race, what was important for you to do or not do? How did you feel
during this time? What type of routine did you have to help you prepare
mentally?"
I listened to ZZ Top: “Legs”
In order to fall asleep at night I would think of a stop sign which forced me to quit thinking about the race.
In 1996 I had absolutely no worries, everything revolved about my preparation for the Olympics, very little responsibility toward others.
I had key massage therapist, and physiotherapists. My coach Marty was a great road bike partner when he would come coach me in California. Between 1995 and 2002 I had no training partners, except when Marty would ride the bike with me.
I thought about the sacrifices I made to get to the boat speed that I have attained. My heart would ache when I thought about my father who died to young to watch me race in 1996.
I wanted the other scullers to hurt more than I, I wanted them to regret to have chosen to race me at the Olympics. I wanted to give them hell on water, the same way I was given hell on water in 1992. It was time. I was in search of my identity and by winning gold I accomplished that task.
"Once you arrived at the race course, what kind of routine did you have for
getting ready to go on the water? How did you feel during this time?"
In order to stay focused I would not look up. I kept a tunnel vision and would avoid other rowers I knew. I knew where to leave my sports bag and where the boat was, those were my only stops at the race course. I would relax as soon as I rowed away from the dock, once I sat in the cockpit.
"Can you describe your warm-up and gold medal race: Did everything go
according to plan? What were the most important factors that lead to a
successful race?"
The morning of the gold medal race, I kept hearing the national anthems from freshly baked Olympic gold medalists. I worked hard that it did not distract me from my own race which happened to be the LAST one of the day. Redgrave had won his fourth gold medal an hour before I would launch for my own race. I followed my regular race warm up which consisted of a forty minute row. I took a few 15 stroke pieces and did three starts of 15 strokes each.
"If you would like to describe your experience at Sydney compared it to
Atlanta, it would be interesting to know if you approached the race plan of
your final in a different way."
Sydney was a totally different ball game. I had experienced two birth of my children. My finance from Atlanta became my wife. I was far more weathered as an adult, parent, and spouse. I knew I had been rowing better then ever. I had beaten Rob Waddell in Vienna a couple of month earlier. I knew my competition and what I was capable of. I was truely cold blooded about racing in Australia. I loved that feeling of know how, without too many emotions clouding your abilities. The most amazing about Sydney is that it was my best race ever. In the middle of the race week I started getting nightly sore throats and started having a dry cough. I kept taking all this homeopathic stuff, but nothing worked. My kids had gotten the same bug, and I was kept away from them halfway across our Australian living room. During the final I had NO problem putting the pedal to the metal until the fifth minute, then whatever I was carrying with me, blew up badly. I started freezing up and Rob kept his speed. That was an incredible feeling of catastrophe. I had to pull it together. The five second lead we had on the rest of the field started dwindling down to nothing. Rob kept a little margin in front of me, Porter, and Hacker. I kept hearing voices of my former coaches and Marty saying to me to stay clear of 3 and 4 because they might gabble me down and I would end up without a medal. It was an unbelievable feeling to get away with a silver medal, having two children, married, and having enough time to spend with the family.
"What is the most important factor to prepare for a peak race that you would
like to pass on to those readers who are preparing for sprint competitions
this summer?"
Never underestimate training thousands of miles below 2mmol of lactic it is currently the best way to build stamina for 2000 meter sprint racing.
XENO
Xeno Muller, Olympic gold and silver medalist, indoor rowing, rowing technique.
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