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Sport by Sport: Rowing
About Rowing
Sunday, September 10, 2000
One twin sister sticks to retirement plan, but
other returns to strenuous rowing regimen
By Craig Smith
Seattle Times staff reporter
If Betsy McCagg returns from Australia with an Olympic medal, she can thank a friend who went behind her back.
Megan Callahan unsuccessfully tried to win a seat in the U.S. lightweight boats. In February 1999, she participated in an indoor-rowing test, with McCagg pacing her on an adjacent rowing machine.
McCagg, who had rowed in the 1992 and 1996 Olympic eights with her twin, Mary, had no intention of submitting her score to USRowing officials.
"I wasn't going to turn it in, but she turned it in for me," said McCagg, who grew up between Juanita and Kenmore and played three sports at Lakeside School.
McCagg's score was one of the best in the country.
A few days later at the elementary school where she was a student-teacher, she received a phone call from someone whose name the school secretary could not pronounce.
McCagg knew who it was. U.S. Coach Hartmut Buschbacher wanted to know if she were interested in trying to make the 2000 Olympic team.
McCagg spent spring break in the USRowing camp, then returned to camp in June with her eyes on Australia.
"I wanted to see if I could do it, if I still had it in me," she said. "I love the training part of it and the team part of it -- being part of a group committed to doing something spectacular."
Since 1989, McCagg, 33, had been on U.S. national teams every year except one and was USRowing's female athlete of the year in 1995.
This pre-Olympic stint has been a different experience for her because Mary isn't around.
"It's a lot more different than I thought it would be," Betsy said. "It's different not having the support system there for me. . . . Off the water, I miss her a lot. I call her often to see what's going on."
Mary retired from world-class rowing after she and Betsy represented the U.S. in the world pair championships in 1997. She got married last October and is a children's book editor in Cambridge, Mass. She will be in Australia as an attaché to the Olympic Village.
Three other rowers from Washington will be in the boat.
Sarah Jones (Stanwood High School, University of Massachusetts), Lianne Bennion Nelson (Lakeside School, Princeton) and Katie Maloney (Rainier Beach, University of Washington) are joined by a fifth Northwesterner, Amy Martin, a former Oregon State rower.
McCagg's family has been linked with rowing for decades. Her father, Ted, was a Harvard captain who almost made two Olympic teams. Her grandfather, Louis, and an uncle, also named Louis, were Harvard captains.
Betsy and Mary rowed at Harvard, as did their brother, also named Ted. However, a broken ankle torpedoed his collegiate career.
Their mother, Sharon, is a pediatric nurse who was an original member of the Martha's Moms Rowing Club.
Betsy, who was on the 1995 world championship U.S. eight and won two medals in the 1993 world championships, is seeking her first Olympic medal. She and Mary were on the 1992 U.S. eight that finished sixth in Barcelona and on the 1996 crew that finished fourth in Atlanta.
This year's U.S. women's eight racked up some staggering mileage figures on the water before leaving for Australia. In some weeks, they rowed more than 150 miles in scorching heat. The mileage was around the same training lake in San Diego that is 7 kilometers (4.3 miles around), and the rowers were eager to get to Australia for fresh scenery.
The workouts were so grueling that Buschbacher instituted a rule -- he never wants to see his rowers on the water with a clear water bottle. He wants them drinking sports drinks to replace electrolytes and nutrients.
McCagg, who is 6 feet 2 and 167 pounds, got down to 10 percent body fat but said she wanted to gain five "insurance" pounds in case she needs to fight off a virus or minor illness before the Olympic competition.
This will be the final Olympics for McCagg, who gets needled by friends who remember her saying that 1996 was the end of the road.
This time she means it.
"Definitely," she said.
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