The Australian engineers in Rio have had a great day winning two silver medals. Late last night, James McRae and Karsten Forsterling finished second in the quad sculls rowing event. Then this morning, Mitch Larkin was the runner-up in the men's 200 m backstroke event.
QUT engineering student Larkin told Channel 7 after the swim that he was a little disappointed not to get a gold after winning both the 100 m and 200 m backstroke events at last year's world championships. But after, finishing fourth in the 100 m earlier in the week, his main goal was getting a medal and he was pleased with silver.. He will still have another opportunity for a medal in the 4x100 m medley relay team, the finals of which will be held on Sunday morning at 12.04 (AEST).
Another QUT engineering student Jack McLoughlin is competing in the gruelling 1500 metre freestyle so he has had to wait till the end of the swimming program at Rio before getting his chance to compete. His heat will be tomorrow morning (Saturday) at 4.10 am (AEST) and the final will be at 11.11am on Sunday morning.
To qualify for Rio, McLoughlin took 24 seconds off his personal best time. His secret was sticking to the beat, he says.
“I’m into engineering so I’m a big sucker for technology,” McLoughlin says. “Probably the single most important item for me is a waterproof Finis metronome which slips under your swim cap. I set it at 72 beats per minute and it ensures I swim with the correct stroke rate, which is all-important in my event.”
Although he’s not allowed to use the metronome in competition, it is his constant training partner, McLoughlin says. Sometimes, the night before an important swim, he’ll sleep with the metronome on his ear to make sure his body is completely in sync with the beat.
Over at the rowing course, the Australian quad sculls team featuring mechanical engineering student James McRae and structural engineer Karsten Forsterling won a silver medal overnight. The reigning Olympic champions Germany stormed out of the blocks opening up a big lead early in the race. The Australians attempted to chase them down but fell just short. The Australian coxless pairs crew featuring civil engineering student Alex Lloyd finished outside the medals in their final overnight.
The final engineer in the rowing team is Western Australian civil engineer Rhys Grant who is competing in the single sculls. After poor weather earlier in the week, his semifinal was rescheduled for this evening (Friday) at 11pm (AEST) and, if he qualifies, the final will be on Saturday evening at 11.32pm.
Another Australian engineer Matthew Chau has also made his debut at the Games in the men's doubles badminton. Chau is studying a double degree in engineering and commerce. Unfortunately, in their first group game, he and partner Sawan Serasinghe lost to a South Korean pairing. Their next match is against the Russian team early Saturday morning.
[The quad sculls team show off their medals. James McRae is second from left and Karsten Forsterling is far right. Photo: Australian Olympic Team via Twitter]
More info:
Engineers take their marks at the Olympics
Gold for Aussie engineer in Rio
Engineering rowers get ready to go for gold