Single-minded rower concentrates on Beijing

Mahe Drysdale's sole focus is the Olympics, even with Rob Waddell breathing down his neck

There may be eight months till the Beijing Olympics, but world champion rower Mahe Drysdale believes it is now that the single sculls title is being decided.

While the battle hots up for the ticket to Beijing, with Drysdale and former champion Rob Waddell going head-to-head this summer, Drysdale's preparation has stayed unchanged.

Long aerobic-based training sessions are filling the summer days with New Zealand's best rowers a regular feature on Lake Karapiro.

"This is the early part to our buildup to Beijing – we are doing a lot of long, hard work. We are out there every day, usually twice a day. It's long, two-hour sessions at a time, just trying to build up that base as much as we can.

"Now is the really critical phase for us, because you win in Beijing by doing these miles now – by the time you get there you've done all the hard work and it's just a matter of pulling out a good performance on the day," he says.

With three world titles under his belt, Drysdale knows what to do to win the big ones.

"I'm happy I've had these opportunities at the world champs. That's really a dry run for the Olympics.

"It's the same thing – you've got one day in a year where you have to step up and perform and so far it's gone well for me. It's definitely a big confidence boost for going into next year – I've done it three times I've just got to do it once more."

After taking a month off following the world championships in September, Drysdale kick-started his Beijing preparations by packing his bags for another stint overseas.

"I was away for six weeks – that was a really good trip. You get a bit of training in and every weekend you are racing and in different cities.

"I find that a nice way to get back into training because you're travelling round. It's a bit more interesting than being down at Karapiro every day," he says.

The trip was focused on long- distance events, with the shortest race five kilometres and the longest 11km, a far cry from the usual 2km races.

But while it was about building a base, there was a competitive edge to the trip as well.

"Every time you get out there it's competitive, but the goal is Beijing and everything we do now is focused on that.

"Obviously you don't peak for the racing, it's part of your training – you build it into your training and every week you go and race. It's pretty similar to what we would do in New Zealand anyway."

Drysdale's preparations for the Olympics have included checking the course. "The course itself is awesome. It's a man-made course and most of them are pretty similar, but the difference with that course is the warmup area, which is huge.

"Most of the time it's only about 1000m long and if you're lucky maybe three or four lanes wide. This one is like having a second course to warm up on – it is a great facility."

Many New Zealand fans will be hoping that come August, the course will be the sight of a goldrush.

At the September world championships, New Zealand won three gold medals and two silvers, including Drysdale's success in the single sculls.

"It's [rowing] in a great state. We are really on a high at the moment and I suppose the challenge will be continuing that forward," he said.

"We've got a lot of young athletes doing very, very well and it's up to all of us to keep that going. It will be interesting to see after Beijing – obviously that's the time when people will retire and that sort of thing and that's perhaps an opportunity for some of these younger ones to step up ."

But for now it is all about those long, hard miles – though Drysdale will be taking a bit of a break for the Christmas season.

"We get from the 22nd till the 26th off so it's a chance to catch up with family and friends, which is always enjoyable."

- © Fairfax NZ News