Olympic Mens Eight 2021 - Detailed Video Analysis 

Hi again Arum. If you could distil our rowing philosophy down to one sentence, it would be that "Rowing is the prolonged and effective use of the body weight over the entire stroke. To me the body is always working, BUT, over the first third of the drive it is working in a static, braced manner, transmitting the power from the legs. Then it becomes more and more active. This is the "swing" we often hear talked about. Effective use of body swing is, to me, vital, but equally vital is WHEN the body starts to pivot and the weight is transferred from the front of the seat to the back of the seat. In my opinion you are correct when you say that the swing of the body mass as a crew at exactly the same time makes fast boats, whether they are Olympic or school level. Just my opinion though!

Good analytical video, I must say that not having a video that tracks the race perfectly and introduces errors of parallax makes it very difficult, a job well done by you. And I think you are right on the money with it.

There is an interesting video by Shaun Kirkham on his and the NZ 8's road of failure to the 2021 Olympics.

Thank you for your analysis.

so glad u did this race!

Thank you for your analysis very informative and very interesting watching

Interesting and the length of commentary is very worthwhile, thank you. In the sixties we would talk informally about maximising the 'sweet spot', using the hinge at the hips. Weight on the seat would be minimal for most of the stroke. Hard to contemplate the degree of stress in training endured by the rowers now. I'd like to think they enjoy their rowing, not in a frivolous way, but with deep satisfaction while training and later in life when the overall effort has the benefit of after-sight..

As a NZer I know it’s easy to say now….but I had feeling about the Kiwi 8. If the Olympics was held in 2020 they were nowhere…but that extra year was everything for a developing boat. And having Bond was just huge.

Thank you. More please!

So worth spending the time to see the races and your thoughts

Four of the Australian 8 that won in Henley, won the 4- race in Tokyo which was their main focus after coming 2nd in Rio. I personally would have loved to see how fast the Aus 8 would have gone if we had boated our 'best 8'

very very useful , thx Aram

How about an video analysis of the women's 8 race in Tokyo 2021. I would like to know your thoughts on the Canadian crew that won the gold metal.

Great video! Would love to see an analysis of this years lightweight boat races, it was a Cambridge domination but well justified by some great rowing (I think)

I'm always careful comparing different sides. The rotation of the shoulders always makes the far side look like they open more and earlier.

Love these long form video analysis. They really go into very important detail.

This is such a great analysis! You should do one on the womens 8 and the Canadians that won gold!

Hi Aram, great video, yup Tony did a super job there, I like his comment below also. The speed being built at the start is/was a Harry Mahon thing, unsure if that was Tony's source, but I think Tony being an ex Lightweight may have added to how they raced (as an ex l/w its all about 'how much bang can we get for our buck') The national sport in N.Z is Rugby by the way, back in the day rowing was a way the big guys would stay fit and trim over the summer break, so both sport are benefactors there I feel. Cheers

30:20 it seems like its not just starboard side that opens their backs at the catch, 4 seat has a noticeable engagement of his back with 1 and 3 seat. 2 seats is less noticeable like 5's but also definitely there.

deft discussion point and analysis of the hip dominant bow man technique in the Germany 8+ boat.

42:49 I appreciate the video format!

Really enjoyed the detailed analysis. Would be interested in your comments on the 1972 Olympic Mens Eight Rowing final!

Germany were not the most powerful. Weaker average erg scores than the British and the Kiwis. Their early speed a combination of being slick off the start and committing energetically to the early part of the race. Of the three medalists, arguably the Germans got the best boat speed for their power.

Re $$. Whole NZ Rowing squad and national programmes about 3Mil/yr Euro after Rio leading to 2020. After Toyko, a massive increase to $5Mil euro/yr. This pays for all Rowing development, coaching, admin costs etc from the grassroots to 'funding' full time athletes. The GB investment is mind-blowing. All clubs run on a smell of an oily rag, supported by dedicated parents and volunteers.

Love this video and that they put the speed data nowadays. Is it accurate enough?

At Penn AC we had a guy in the bow who rowed like that. He pried his back open at the catch. I think the reason he did this was because he was the lightest rower and did not have the leg strength to drive like everyone else before leveraging his back. So he combined his back and legs together at the catch to “keep up” with the stronger rowers who could use leg drive first then use their backs. He was tall and thin at just 185lbs, and the other rowers were all over 200lbs. So he had to open his back a bit with his leg drive to get his oar thru the water at the same rate as everyone else.

Hallo Aram, Diese Analyse ist ein Genuss zu sehen und zu hören! Toll, dass Du Dir diese Zeit und Mühe machst! Die Spiele Tokyo waren durch die einjährige, coronabedingte Verzögerung eine extreme Herausforderung. Anmerken möchte ich zu den Resultaten: Der Deutschlandachter war mit einer Zeit von 05:33.22 bei den Europameisterschaften am 11. April 2021 4. hinter Gewinner GBR (05:30.86), Silber gewann noch ROU und Bronze NED. Daran kann man erkennen, dass GER noch absolut nicht den Speed aufgebaut hatte um gegen GBR bestehen zu können. 3 Monate später sah die Reihenfolge dann umgekehrt aus, bzw. ROU hatte sogar den Einzug in das A-Finale in Tokyo verpasst (7.Platz) Hier wäre es interessant zu wissen welche optimale Periodisierung bzw. Vorbereitung auf einen solchen Zielwettkampf nötig ist um den korrekten "Peak" für einen Achter als Mannschaft zu erhalten? Was dann auch noch interessant wäre ist der Einfluss (Positiv wie negativ) vom Höhentrainigslager (Training at High Altitude) was von GB sehr aufwändig zum Beispiel in Silvretta, Austria! gemacht wird und zum Beispiel der GER Achter gar nicht praktiziert. Zu den NED Achter wollte ich noch anmerken, dass im direkten örtlichen und zeitlichen Umfeld die Mannschaft von Corona betroffen war. Zum Beispiel war der niederländische Rudertrainer Josy Verdonkschot positiv auf COVID-19 getestet und musste sich in eine 10-tägige Quarantäne begeben - Das gesamte niederländische Ruderteam willigt daher ein sich in Tokio komplett zu isolieren. Man kann sich vorstellen, dass unter diesen Bedingungen der Wettkampf insbesondere für die Niederländer eine extreme Herausforderung war. Umso großartiger das Ergebnis finde ich! Ohne den Erfolg der Neuseeländer schmälern zu wollen, so waren sie doch die einzige Mannschaft die im Vorfeld in NZ am wenigsten Schwierigkeiten mit C19 hatten - während in Europa monatelange Lockdown Phasen mit Kontaktbschränkungen Alltag waren, ging das Leben für Neuseeländer doch fast normal weiter. Das ist ein Vorteil, den man schonmal anmerken sollte. Abschließend sollte dann noch erwähnt werden, dass die Schiebewind Ruderbedingungen in Tokyo am Finaltag technisch sauber rudernde Mannschaften bevorteilt haben (Finalzeit für Gold bei NZ 5.25.60) - Bei starkem Gegenwind wäre meiner bescheiden Vermutung nach etwas andere Ergebnisse möglich gewesen.

Good video. However, the kiwis did "come out of nowhere" from the northern hemisphere perspective, because they came last at the 2019 World Championships (A Final) and had to go to the olympic qualification regatta in May. There they beat the Romanians by only a second (in the Olympic repercharge two months later the gap was 5 seconds). They didn't attend any of the World Cups so didn't race any of the European countries. So they arrived as a relative unknown, hence why I could place odds on them winning at 9:1 literally an hour before the race!

Hi Aram, you should do a detailed analysis of the mens quadruple and double sculls Olympic Finals of Tokyo 2021.

Hi Aram I was wondering if you could do a detailed analysis on one of my favorite rowers his name is Sholto Carnegie he rowed stroke of the Yale 8 in 2018 and stroke of the British four in these most recent years

Awesome video Aram- can you go into more depth about the strategy of taking 10-15 hard strokes in the middle of a race? Making a move with a high 20 at the 1k mark is a large part of my boat’s race plan, and I’d love to know about the physiological/technical pros and cons of such a move. Thanks!

Was wondering if you could do more coxswain analysis, the first one is really great!

There's a very good documentary about Tony O'Connor. He's an amazing person.

46:21 Yeah Brookes!

Combining with symmetrical oars would have sorted the Kiwis out. They would have held onto the finish throughout, and developed the momentum of a crew!'

The stroke of the German eight operns early, too, he is the same as tyhe bow man

Where can the original video of the race be found?

Hey , can you please make a video about the 4- Mens final at the 2023 championships in Belgrade , pleeeaaaaase 🙏 let me know if you already made it 😁THX

The German bowman could be making the load lighter for the rest of the Eight with the early curve

Analysis of the women’s 4 at Tokyo 2020 please 🥲