Leap of faith: From the beam into the boat

"I simply said "let's go!" I didn't think too much about whether or not I should take up rowing," explains Claudia Presăcan. The former gymnast decided to retire after the 2000 Sydney Olympics. Then, on January 4th, the Sibiu native showed up at the training camp for the National rowing team, held at Poiana Brasov. She will train alongside the rest of the team, hoping to get the cox man position. "Claudia is the most suited person for this spot", said National team assistant coach Marcel Roman, "due to the same physical characteristics that helped her in her gymnastics career. Her small weight, good sense of rhythm and balance are the main qualities a cox man needs to have. Claudia already had them from gymnastics. However, she's only starting out this new sport and still has a lot to learn. I'm sure she'll have good results as a rower, as well," added Roman.

Claudia says she gets along well with her new teammates, even though there is a big height difference [between her and the rest of the team]. Her friendship with the rowing team goes back a long way. In Sydney, the gymnastics and rowing teams stayed in adjacent houses. "Whenever the gymnasts would compete, our girls watched them and were very nervous for them. They did the same thing for the rowing team. We celebrated every victory together," says Mircea Roman.

On the way back from Sydney, the gymnasts and rowers were again together on the plane. Claudia's friends suggested she tries rowing, where she would be well suited for the cox position. "In any case, Elena Georgescu, our former cox, already announced her retirement. Claudia also said she's retiring from gymnastics, while she was still on top. We should only admire her courage to start rowing," said coach Roman.

"A great team will finish dead last with a bad cox. The cox wins the competition if she knows how to feel the boat. We're hoping Claudia Presăcan will reach that stage. Right now, she's training with the team, but she doesn't understand too much, even though she has a lot of willpower. It's the first time we ever tried this, but I'm sure we'll succeed," said the coach. Claudia is also convinced she can reach a high level in rowing. "There is no comparison between the effort required for gymnastics with that required for rowing. I still hope to handle things well, and make it," said Claudia. The Olympic champion says everyone reacted normally to the news she will start rowing. "My parents, former teammates and coaches encouraged me and told me it's my choice and they'll keep their fingers crossed. I didn't notice any weird looks because I decided to train as a cox for the rowing team," added Claudia.

Mircea Roman added that all his colleagues from the Romanian Rowing Federation looked upon Claudia's arrival as an experiment. "We're happy with the choice she made, and we hope she will medal at the next Olympiad as a cox for Romania's 8+1 rowing team," said Roman. Claudia rooms with Rodica Anghel, the other cox of the National team. She will stay at Poiana Brasov until the end of the training camp. She kept the same discipline she had in gymnastics. That's not easily forgotten. If she adapts well to her new sport, she could be cox for a boat next year. And, maybe, a champion, in a few year. That would be an unheard of accomplishment in the annals of Romanian and world sport.

Due to her responsibilities, the cox is regarded as an assistant coach. She has to take roll during training camps, give wake-up and going-to-bed calls every day. She times all the strength training exercises, and makes sure things are in order at the table. When the boat goes out on the water, she gathers the team, encourages her teammates, sets and maintains the number of strokes. For women's the maximum weight of a cox is 50 kg (120 lbs). If the cox is overweight, the boat gets too heavy, and the team's has to do extra work. That's why the ideal weight should be under this limit, any extra weight that needs to be added to the boat could be made up my adding deadweight. When it comes to medal ceremonies and prize money, the cox has the same privileges as the rest of the team.

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