[UPDATE: Poor weather in Rio saw the rowing events cancelled last night, forcing a reschedule of the program. The finals of the quad sculls and men's pair will take place tonight (Thursday) while the semifinal for the single sculls will take place Friday night.]
The Olympic rowing events have reached the point where gold medals are now being decided and four Australian engineers are in the hunt for medals over the next few days.
If there is one sport ideally suited to the engineering mind, it is rowing. The stroke must deliver the maximum force across its length. Then the recovery phase where the oar is removed from the water, returned to position for the next stroke and enters the water again, must be done as efficiently as possible to conserve strength for the next stroke. In addition, most events have multiple crew members who must synchronise their actions so that the mechanism that is their boat works seamlessly. So it is not surprising that the Australian rowing team has more engineers in its ranks than any other sport at the Olympics.
The quadruple sculls team features two engineers: Victorian structural engineer Karsten Forsterling and James McRae who is currently studying mechanical engineering at the University of Adelaide. Forsterling and McRae have form in this event having won a bronze medal at the London Olympics four years ago and are hopeful of improving on that result in Rio. Their boat qualified fastest for the final which will be held this evening (Wednesday) at 11.22pm (AEST).
In the coxless pairs, Alex Lloyd has qualified third fastest for the final which will be held on Thursday evening at 10.52pm (AEST). Lloyd, who is from Sydney originally, is studying civil engineering at Deakin University. This is his first Olympics but he has previously won medals at the World Championships of 2013 and 2014 so is also hopeful of taking another medal home here.
The fourth engineer in the rowing team is Western Australian civil engineer Rhys Grant who is competing in the single sculls. Grant finished second in his quarterfinal overnight and goes into the semifinals with the 8th fastest time overall. His semifinal will be on Thursday evening at 10.20pm (AEST) and final, if he qualifies, will be on Saturday evening.
In other sports, Mitch Larkin just missed out on a medal, finishing 4th in the 100 m backstroke. He still has two other events to come in the program. In the 200 m backstroke, he is the reigning world champion and has the fastest time of the year. The heats for that event will take place early tomorrow (Thursday) morning with the semifinals tomorrow evening and the final Friday morning at 11.26 (AEST). He is also expected to be a member of the 4x100 m medley relay team, the finals of which will be held on Sunday morning at 12.04 (AEST).
The men's hockey team features two engineers: Canberra-based mechanical engineer Andrew Charter and Fergus Kavanagh who has a double degree in engineering and commerce. The Kookaburras have just one win (over New Zealand) and two losses (to Spain and Belgium) so far in the tournament. Their last two matches against Britain and Brazil have become must-win affairs.
Australian engineers still waiting for their first event at Rio include: 1500m swimmer Jack McLoughlin, synchronised swimmer Amie Thompson and hurdler Michelle Jenneke.
[Karsten Forsterling (second from left) and James McRae (third) with their bronze medals at the London Olympics. Photo: Rowing Australia]
More info:
Engineers take their marks at the Olympics
Gold for Aussie engineer in Rio