The Red Rose Crew

They arrived in England for the world championships with an untried boat and a crew that was considered too light, too old and too inexperienced to make any sort of challenge. They were, in fact, favorites for last place. "Let's face it," said one crew member, "we've never beaten anybody." Not until last week, that is. In a series of races that spanned four gray, windy days at Nottingham, the U.S. women's eight finished second, defeating such heavyweights as the Soviet Union and West Germany. After the last race, as the Americans posed for pictures, the sun broke through to shine on their silver medals--and the tears of joy running down their cheeks.

The display of emotion was understandable. After years of borrowing equipment and training with little or no coaching, U.S. oarswomen had suddenly arrived as a major force in international racing. Now, for the first time, they can see themselves as serious contenders for a gold medal in next summer's Olympics. "Our potential," says Number Two Oar Gail Pierson, "is still untapped."

The exultant Americans actually comprised the first U.S. national team. Last June some 80 oarswomen competed for an invitation to the national training camp at Harvard in July. Thirty-two survivors won the dubious privilege of backcracking two-a-day workouts on the Charles River. No one was more surprised at their high pain tolerance than Harry Parker, successful coach of men's crew at Harvard, who had signed on with no noticeable enthusiasm to coach the national women's boat. Only five years before, when Radcliffe students approached him about forming a women's crew, he had said no. "I was thoroughly a part of our culture," he says. "I never thought women would be willing to work hard enough."

The crew Parker culled from this summer's candidates is a shellful of diversity. The veteran at 34 is Pierson, an M.I.T. economics professor who plans to take a year's leave from teaching to concentrate on rowing. Claudia Schneider, a 23-year-old graduate of Long Beach State, has discovered a fighting streak in herself. "Ninety percent of rowing is between the ears," she says. "You don't have to be born an athlete." Carol Brown, 22, a political science major at Princeton, admits, "I'm a masochist. I like to work myself very hard."

The crew's youngest member is Lynn Silliman, 16, a 98-lb. coxswain from San Diego, who directs the boat with the aplomb of an old pro. The remainder of the crew comes from such schools as Radcliffe, Yale and Wisconsin. Excluding Silliman, they average an imposing 5 ft. 8 in., 155 lbs.

Most Motivated. At Nottingham, that was practically lilliputian compared to most of the competition. The winning East Germans weighed in at an average of 20 lbs. heavier, but the Americans managed to outstroke eight other muscular boats with a combination of will and Parker's smooth technique. "I'd have to say these girls are among the most motivated athletes I have ever met," said the coach. They were also the first Parker crew ever to race with red roses tied to their shoelaces.

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