Determined oarsman gains just reward

Press, 15 April 1978, Page 12

Determined oarsman gains just reward

By

TIM DUNBAR

Nothing perhaps better illustrates the nature of Jeff Lopas than his actions at Kerrs Reach during the chillv winter of 1972. For many rowing followers a lasting memory of those days would be that of Lopas working his way up and down the river in a single scull and relative solitude. The almost daily occasion was a training session for the New Zealand Munich Olympic squad — an eight and two fours — and Lopas, then 23, was only the non-travelling reserve.

As the seventeenth man m the squad, Lopas was in a position vaguely similar to that of the LennonMcCartney “Nowhere Man" with his boat a nowhere land. There was little or no chance of getting a trip to the place where Hitler had launched his ill-fated “Beer Hall Putsch’’ almost 50 years earlier — but Lopass resolve remained high. It was typical of a man who wears his determination on his chin. Lopas. last a national representative in 1974. has finally regained his place in the New Zealand team and he will be. all going well, turning out in a quadruple scull when the world championships are held at Lake Karapiro in the first week of November. Preparing for Karapiro is obviously uppermost on Lopas's mind at present, but he still vividly recalls those long, lonely miles he covered six years ago. “Up to that stage there had always been someone who had pulled out before a national team went away. “Unfortunately, nobody managed to do it this

time, though I tried hard." There was a nice touch of humour in this statement that is not normally associated with Lopas. a serious-minded individual who puts a lot of thought into his rowing. “He’s pretty deep. You don’t really get to know Jeff.” said Pat McQuinn, coach of the senior Avon crews in 1977 when Lopas won his first red coat.

Lopas has the reputation of being a hard trainer who never shirks work. He wins all the runs (three to 12 miles in early season and sprints later on) and drives himself hard in the gymnasium.

H i s determination should again be very much in evidence when the squad starts its training in Auckland next month — earlier than the other crews — as there is a slight catch about the team place ’.»e earned. “The thing about sculling is that we have a reserve (lan Corbett, a huge Aucklander) and there is always the possibility that they could change the crew.” Does this rather remote possibility worry Lopas at all? “Yes,” he laughed, almost nervously, “very much.” The quad is an unknown quantity at this stage with Lopas the only member who has represented New Zealand at the senior level before. Peter Jansen (Auckland) was little known before the last nationals and the West End rowers, Bruce Rae and Ross McKee, were only late additions to the list of triaiists. But Lopas seems quite happy with his crew. “Rae and McKee are very ex-

perienced. proven oarsmen and this guy Jansen is very big and' looks to be very strong.” The quad is to be coached by the great West End oarsman, Dudley Storey, who has little coaching experience but still inspires confidence from Lopas. “Dudley wan a silver medal at the Munich Olympics (coxless four) and a gold at Mexico (coxed four) and his influence was fairly strong in those crews, I think. “He is 38 aWd must know something about rowing and what makes them (boats) go.” Lopas has virtually had a season off sculling; he did not defend his Canterbury singles title (he had won in the previous five years) after qualifying for the final, and did not enter any sculling events at the nationals in March. So it was as a rower — his Avon crews finished second in the eights and third in the coxed fours at Karapiro — that Lopas really went to the trials. It didn’t work out that way. “I had an idea that I could end up in a sculling crew, but it was not until the last day of the trials that I realised it was a definite possibility. “My preference was mainly for a coxless four but I’m still quite happy to get in the quad; it would have been . my second choice,” Lopas said. Before being channelled into sculling by the selectors at Wanganui, Lopas had endured a row on the Saturday morning (April 1) that was “one of the hardest I’ve ever had.” The trials were particu- i

larly tough for rowers, he said, because the crews were even and raced all the way down the river. “It wasn’t I so bad for the scullers. One ■ boat didn’t have a rudder > and headed for the bank all ■ the time.” I Lopas does not think he will regret his brief absence • from sculling when involved ■ in those long months of : training for the world reI gatta. “When I went away ’ to Lucerne I hadn't done any 1 at all that year, either, but I was sculling, as well as the ' others by the time we left.” He added: “The break ) might be an advantage; you can get sick of sculling.” A lasting regret for Lopas , is that his quad did no better than fifth in the 1974, world championships. “We were capable of at least ' fourth. It was a silly move ’ trying to hold West Germany — we should perhaps have tried to row our own ’ race in the middle of the field.” Things went downhill for a while after that. A disappointed Lopas was dropped from the quad in 1975 (it finished a poor ninth) and failed to win even a trial in 1976 when no scullers made the Olympic team. But 1977 and 1978 were better years. Lopas is thinking fairly seriously about retiring next year. “This year will take more than enough out of me — both in time and money.” He is the sort of person who always has to be achieving excellence in something and as he “quite enjoys running” that is likely to be his next serious activity. Last winter he averaged over 100 km a week and made the Canterbury 10-

mile team for -the national championships. The Linwood High School maths teacher is glad he made the move from the Canterbury club to Avon a few years ago. But there are no sculling coaches down here and, one wonders at the outcome if Lopas had been single and free to shift north to a club like Whakaten “which has oarsmen in sculls every second night.”