A long, gruelling and uncertain winter of training on Elk Lake has paid off for the men鈥檚 quad, which has qualified as the seventh and final Canadian boat for the 2016 Rio Summer Olympics.
Victoria-based Rowing sa国际传媒 had qualified six boats through the 2015 world championships. But the men鈥檚 quadruple sculls failed in that quest last year and wasn鈥檛 among them. That blemish, however, was rectified Tuesday when the Canadian quad finished second in the last-chance Olympic qualifying race held in Lucerne, Switzerland. The top-two from the race, Russia and sa国际传媒, qualified for the Rio Olympics.
The Canadian quad consists of Will Dean, who represents Brentwood College, Rob Gibson, a 2012 London Olympics silver medallist in the eight, Pascal Lussier of St-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Que., and Julien Bahain, a dual citizen and 2008 Beijing Olympic bronze medallist for France, who relocated to Victoria.
鈥淚t鈥檚 been a short and long year, in the sense of the pressure,鈥� said Dean, in a statement.
鈥淲e spent a lot of time trying to just focus on the process of what we鈥檙e doing and not the result. It鈥檚 not until after it鈥檚 over that you realize what you鈥檝e done.鈥�
Dean said he appreciated the assistance, both moral and physical, all winter in training on Elk Lake.
鈥淚鈥檝e never felt more support from the Canadian rowing community,鈥� he said. 鈥淓veryone was in our corner.鈥�
The men鈥檚 quad lineup is set for Rio, with sa国际传媒 joining Australia, Great Britain, Germany, Poland, Estonia, Switzerland, Lithuania, Ukraine and Russia on the start line.
The 2016 Canadian Olympic rowing team, now officially numbering seven boats, will compete this week in World Cup II in Lucerne, the second of three pre-Olympic regattas. sa国际传媒 won four medals at World Cup I last month in Varese, Italy, which bode well for the Rio Games.
World Cup III is June 17-19 in Poznan, Poland.
