Top RoweRs
Amber Halliday (r) and
Marguerite Houston (l)
celebrate their silver medals
with the cadets at the 2006
World Rowing Championships
in Eton, Great Britain.
© 2006 Getty Images / John Gichigi
5
”All credit to our coach Adrian David though.
He had the process so well drilled within us
that we could go out, not be concerned with
other crews, and really row our own race.”
”Coming away with a win from the semifinal,
we were still under no illusions that it would
be very easy to come sixth. Almost as easy as it
would be to come first,” says Halliday. ” We never
took anything for granted. Everyone’s a threat.”
A determined final 500m saw the Australian’s
surge from a length adrift of leaders Finland
to snare gold in the race’s final strokes.
With focus now shifted to Beijing, the reigning
World Champions insist their Munich victory
does not confer them the rights to Olympic
favouritism.
”You can make it as big or as small as you
want it, and I don’t think 0.23 seconds is a
performance that makes others look at us
differently,” says Halliday. ”I still like to claim
underdog status.”
”For me, I enjoyed the medal, I had a look at
it, put it in my top drawer, and now it’s back
to the grind,” says Houston.
November 2007 saw the success and
consistency of the South Australian based
duo rewarded with pre-selection to the 2008
Australian Rowing Team. Form withstanding,
Halliday and Houston are guaranteed starters
at Beijing.
”It will allow our current World Champions to
focus their specific attention on the Beijing
Olympic Games,” says Rowing Australia High
Performance Director NoelDonaldson. ”It
replicates the success of early selection for
our men’s pair four years ago for the Athens
Olympic Games.”
For the Australians who have been training
under coach Adrian David since 2002, racing
together at Beijing will be the fruition of a
three-year plan. Halliday, an Olympian from
2004, says Beijing will be business as usual.
”I think this time I’ll know a lot more what to
expect. I don’t think I’ll get overwhelmed by
the sentimentality of the Olympics.”
For Houston, an Olympic debut is sufficient
incentive to endure the remaining eight
months of a meticulous preparation.
”I think it’s pretty inspirational what we’re
working towards at the moment. You only
get certain amounts of time in your life where
you have the opportunity to compete at this
level. I think that’s why we’re really making the
most of the time we have together to make
a lightweight women’s double go really fast.”
■ T.N.
