Rowing sa国际传媒 has fired coach Mike Spracklen of Victoria, the man who guided the Canadian men聮s eight to gold medals at the 1992 Barcelona and 2008 Beijing Olympics and to the silver medal this past summer at the London Games.
聯It聮s obviously very disappointing but I聮ve been expecting it for a long time,聰 said the 74-year-old Spracklen, in admitting to an uneasy relationship with Rowing sa国际传媒, despite the world prominence he brought to the program.
聯They [Rowing sa国际传媒] have been kind of niggling at me for a long time. I聮ve felt insecure in this position for several years. But it聮s not the end of the world. I will definitely stay in coaching. I聮ve got something to offer somebody somewhere. I聮ve got a few more years left in coaching and I want to use them in a place where they want me. I will rest for a few days and decide what to do.聰
Spracklen, a native of Great Britain, was beloved by his Olympic-medallist Canadian eights crews.
聯The sun has gone down on Elk Lake in more ways than one,聰 said Kevin Light of Sidney, a member of Spracklen聮s 2008 Beijing Olympic gold-medallist crew and two world championship crews.
聯He brought a winning record and attitude and respectability. Mike shaped our characters and how we approached the rest of our lives.聰
Spracklen also coached the Canadian men聮s eight to four world titles and Silken Laumann of Victoria to her lauded comeback-from-injury medal in women's singles at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics.
聯The athletes have been tremendous,聰 said Spracklen.
Light could not hide his feelings about the move.
聯I feel very angry about this,聰 said the Stelly's grad.
Spracklen said he was called into a meeting Monday at Elk Lake and informed of the decision.
聯We thank Mike for his tremendous contributions to Canadian rowing, and we know he will be missed by many of the athletes he has worked with,聰 said Rowing sa国际传媒 high-performance director Peter Cookson, in a release.
聯Mike has left a significant legacy and we respect and celebrate his many achievements.聰
The move is part of a wider Rowing sa国际传媒 reorganization because of what were considered underachieving overall results at London 2012 after the four-medal performance at Beijing 2008.
聯Our goal is to look to the future and put as many crews on the podium as possible,聰 added Cookson. 聯Two medals [in London] does not meet our expectations 聴 we are driven to improve on this, and I have every confidence that our new coaching and training centre structure will give our athletes what they need to reach their medal potential.聰
John Keogh, who coached the Canadian women聮s eight to the silver medal in London, has been named performance director for the national women聮s training centre in London, Ont.
A new performance director for the national men聮s program, based at Elk Lake, will be announced at a later date.
