One Eight Stands Tall

LAST YEAR IN COPENHAGEN, AN AMERICAN TEAM WON THE men's
heavyweight eight world championship for the first time in 13 years.
All but one member of that team will be in the U.S. boat in Seoul,
but the Americans won't have an easy time getting past the West
Germans, who have been unbeaten in seven starts this year, including
a decisive victory over the U.S. and four other national teams at the
Lucerne Regatta in July. The West Germans' main asset is their size:
Everyone in the crew (except for the coxswain) stands between 6 ft. 4
1/ 2 in. and 6 ft. 8 1/2 in..
Elsewhere, the most heated competition should come in the men's
pairs. In Copenhagen, Great Britain's Andrew Holmes and Steven
Redgrave won the pairs without cox and placed second in the pairs
with cox. If they enter the latter event in Seoul, they will trade
strokes with the Abbagnale brothers of Italy, Giuseppe and Carmine,
who, with their cox, Giuseppe Di Capua, are the Olympic and world
champions.
As in the past, the women's events will be dominated by East
Europeans. Magdalena Georgieva, a 25-year-old Bulgarian with flawless
technique, is the favorite in the single sculls. Romania, beaten out
by the U.S. eight for the gold in '84, has a good chance of getting
revenge in Seoul, and East Germany could add an Olympic title to the
world title it won last year in the quadruple sculls.