CRASH-Bs 2014 One Person's View

[Edward4492]

I saw Mr. Cureton on the erg at least two hours ahead of his start time. And he looked much better. Form looked good. Definitely not the same person that I saw on the video, perhaps he was desparately trying to make weight? Who knows, I'm new to the sport, but I've seen these types of melt downs before. I'd be the last one to throw stones at one of the sports icons......but ya gotta wonder why you would make the trip to Boston when you would have to believe his recent training would give some sort of indication of what kind of pace he could expect to hold.

[hjs]

I saw Mr. Cureton on the erg at least two hours ahead of his start time. And he looked much better. Form looked good. Definitely not the same person that I saw on the video, perhaps he was desparately trying to make weight? Who knows, I'm new to the sport, but I've seen these types of melt downs before. I'd be the last one to throw stones at one of the sports icons......but ya gotta wonder why you would make the trip to Boston when you would have to believe his recent training would give some sort of indication of what kind of pace he could expect to hold.

The man raced very often, but seldeom makes it to the end withoit stopping, if you off way below what yout body can handle, nomatter what you will stop.

He did not try to make weight this time, he was way above, his belly shows he did not try this year.

[Cyclingman1]

I'd be the last one to throw stones at one of the sports icons

The icon bit is going to give some of us a big laugh.

[Yankeerunner]

For what it's worth, I don't doubt anything that Mr. Cureton enters into the rankings. Although his postings on the forum and in his blog got to be unbelievable in the extreme, I really don't believe that he would stoop so low as to rank a bogus time. And there are some others who I believe have done so, although I don't want to reopen that can of worms.

As I posted above, I've never seen anything quite like it in all the years that I've been following sports. That someone who was once so very, very good, an elite, could become so mentally disconnected about his own abilities and predict ever faster times as he gets older and demonstrably slower.

For the record, his fastest time ever remains the Hwt 6:27.5 that he did in his very first race, a satellite regatta that won him a trip to CRASH-Bs where he did 6:28.5 in 2002. His fastest lwt time is 6:28.0 done in winning BIRC in 2003. He also came back from the 7:04.8 in Boston 2006 to win BIRC later that year in the 55-59 lwt in 6:40+. Each peak he has reached since the 6:28 in 2003 has been lower than the previous peak, which is totally normal for an aging athlete. And some of those peaks have been good scores. Unfortunately he boasted that he would be doing nearly superhuman scores instead, and dissed many a good erger as well, making it difficult to not develop some sense of schadenfreude with each spectacular failure.

I really don't wish him ill. But unless there is some change in his attitude toward the sport and his fellow competitors I'll find it hard to wish him well. And I think that change to be unlikely.

He has made himself into one of the most, er, 'interesting' characters in the sport. Although I'd agree that 'icon' would be stretching it too far.

[Yankeerunner]

Speaking of Icons, a few that spring to mind include:

Joan Van Blom
Bob Spousta
Luanne Mills
Jim Castellan
Lisa Schlenker
Mike Caviston
Birgit Juel-Hansen
Eskild Ebbesen
Dennis Hastings

Free free to add. I've left out a load of them.

[Bob S.]

Speaking of Icons, a few that spring to mind include:

Joan Van Blom
Bob Spousta
Luanne Mills
Jim Castellan
Lisa Schlenker
Mike Caviston
Birgit Juel-Hansen
Eskild Ebbesen
Dennis Hastings

Free free to add. I've left out a load of them.

Mattias, who held THE record for a long, long time
Stephansen, the only sub-6' lightweight
Baeyer, an early pioneer of women's rowing and a C-B regular in her 80s
Anna (last name?), the lady from GB who dominated the women' heavyweight division in her 50s and 60s

[Cyclingman1]

Speaking of Icons, a few that spring to mind include:

Joan Van Blom
Bob Spousta
Luanne Mills
Jim Castellan
Lisa Schlenker
Mike Caviston
Birgit Juel-Hansen
Eskild Ebbesen
Dennis Hastings

I suspect those individuals are on your list for slightly different reasons. Spousta and Castellan are in my age group, so I am well aware of their prowess.
I think for a few years Paul Hendershott was a remarkable rower. His 60-64 record will be a tough one to break.

[Yankeerunner]

Good additions, Bob and Jim.

Anna Bailey was the woman you were thinking of. Indeed, one of the most dominant. If i'm remembering correctly, one year after winning BIRC she slipped on ice while going to her car, and some weeks later won the European Championship with a cast on her broken arm or wrist.

[Bob S.]

Good additions, Bob and Jim.

Anna Bailey was the woman you were thinking of. Indeed, one of the most dominant. If i'm remembering correctly, one year after winning BIRC she slipped on ice while going to her car, and some weeks later won the European Championship with a cast on her broken arm or wrist.

I remember that only too well. I was there and was introduced to Anna by JVB. I got my first post-op WR there, but Anna, with her wrist in a cast, beat my time soundly. A formidable lady in appearance, but very gracious in person. Dennis got his 55-59 WR that day as well, but got a silver, because the EIRC rules put him in the 50-59 - no half decades at the EIRC.

Re: Paul Hendershott - definitely. Another long term C-B dominator. And speaking of dominators in general, Luann, of course tops that list, but Mary Perrot is consistently up there close behind, as well as having a great OTW record.

Bob S.

[TomR]

As far as I'm concerned, Bayko's performances are right up there with those of the best. No doesn't have any hammers, but I could just about slip the guy in my hip pocket and still have room for my wallet. Pound for pound, he's a contender.

[Mike Caviston]

Ahem...

http://www.crash-b.org/web/wp-content/u ... 2-lwt.html

[Edward4492]

Wow....lots of interesting names. Like I said, I'm new to the sport and just gettting to learn who's who. I met Van Buren and Rocket Roy at the weigh in, seemed like real nice down to earth guys (and obviously tough competitors). I just started erging back in November after 10 years of bicycle racing ( and several broken bones, punctured lungs, etc.) . I managed a bronze in the 55-59 lightweight, but full disclosure.....I got kinda lucky. Scott Pape was a no show (he would have beaten me) and Tom Phillips was way faster than me but got bumped to the heavies, I think he missed the weigh in. So I put up a 7:13.7; pretty pedestrian by the standards of the guys I see posting here; but a PR for me at the time. Not really the way you want to get on the podium....but that's racin' I guess.

Erging is certainly an esoteric niche sport, and the lightweights seem to be a sub-category all their own. I'm looking forward to earning my way into this select group(hopefully!).

[Bob S.]

Not really the way you want to get on the podium....but that's racin' I guess.

Erging is certainly an esoteric niche sport, and the lightweights seem to be a sub-category all their own. I'm looking forward to earning my way into this select group(hopefully!).

What's really a weird feeling is to be the only one on the podium and you realize that, although you were first, you were also last. It is worse, of course to be up there with one other competitor and get a silver. It emphasizes the fact that you were last place as well as just losing. That's what happens in the aging categories, where the competition gets thinned out drastically. I console myself by thinking that it is because my potential competitors are mostly relaxed in their recliners watching TV. but that is not exactly much consolation.

Bob S.

[TomR]

Ahem...

http://www.crash-b.org/web/wp-content/u ... 2-lwt.html

Thanks for the correction.

The guy's even better than I thought.

[Yankeerunner]

I could just about slip the guy in my hip pocket and still have room for my wallet.

Thanks Tom! I choose to take that as a compliment. Probably the nicest thing anyone has said about me since a running friend called me, "A rumpled 20 in a fresh pack of 3-dollar bills." I may use your quote somewhere sometime.