NEW ZEALAND OARSMEN.

Auckland Star, Volume LXIII, Issue 224, 21 September 1932, Page 13

NEW ZEALAND OARSMEN.

OLYMPIC FAILURE.

OVERWORK AND STALENESS. CRITICISM OF THE COACH. (By Telegraph.—Press Association.) CHRISTCHURCH, this day. Exception to the remarks of C. Healey, the coach, that the New Zealand oarsmen failed to secure a win at the Olympic Games owing to lack of combination, is taken by F. H. Thompson, of Avon Rowing Club, and a member of the Dominion eight at Los Angelee. "Mr. Healey attributed our loss to the fact that we did not have combination," declared Thompson. "I am definite in my statement, however, that the crew was good enough if Mr. Healey had not worked us too hard over the last two weeks before our races. Several members of the crew went to Mr. Healey and asked him to lighten their work, as they felt fit, and if given hard work-outs in future could not hold that fitness. Mr. Healey replied that if they could not get through two workouts daily they would not be any good when the race came along. The result was that when we raced Sandos, Stiles, Cooke, and Macdonald were definitely stale. Two or three of the men lost 6lb in weight in the last few days before the race.