Prominent Island rowers, past and present, are criticizing Rowing sa国际传媒's decision to fire coach Mike Spracklen of Victoria.
"This makes me honestly reconsider coming back," said 2010 women's lightweight double world champion and 2011 world silver-medallist Lindsay Jennerich of Victoria, who despite failing to medal in London, is a big hope for Rio 2016.
"This is not in the best interests of the athletes. You need a belief in the plan. The majority of athletes do not have a belief in this [Rowing sa国际传媒] plan. Mike [Spracklen] was the reason I got where I got in rowing and you will find many others who will say the same. Rowing sa国际传媒 is in the process right now of making some very bad choices and most athletes have begged them to stop doing what they're doing."
Another Spracklen athlete agreed.
"I'm disappointed," said Andrew Byrnes of Victoria, who won gold at the 2008 Beijing Olympics and silver in the 2012 London Summer Games with the Spracklen-coached Canadian men's eight.
"Mike has an excellent track record of winning Olympic medals for sa国际传媒 and to let him go is crazy."
Several other Olympic medallists agree.
"I feel sorry for the next generation of athletes who will not have a chance to perform internationally, simply because the leadership of Rowing sa国际传媒 is scared of strong-willed, driven coaches," said Victoria's Adam Kreek, a 2008 Beijing Olympic gold medallist under Spracklen in the eight.
Victoria rowing great Silken Laumann, who Spracklen coached to her famous comeback bronze medal at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics, is also highly displeased.
"When I heard the news, I just started to cry," said Laumann, in an open letter to the media.
"Letting Mike go feels so wrong. Mike always fights for the athlete, even if this means standing up to the administration. As an athlete, I knew I could count on Mike to fight my battles for me, so I could focus on rowing my boat fast. He didn't care if he lost popularity points, he was willing to do what needed to be done to help the athletes win."
Rowing sa国际传媒 high performance director Peter Cookson said Tuesday he is aware of the backlash and the organization respects and admires Spracklen's achievements, but that it's "time to move forward."
