Chapter 16 Summary and Analysis

Chapter 16 is mainly focused on John Biglow. He has some back trouble during 1982 and 1983 which affects his performance and his whole sense of how to handle the rowing season. The author describes one of the basic conflicts Biglow is experiencing: it is about how he can resolve an inner tension in an effort to make the best choices as far as the upcoming rowing season and the Olympic Games. There are differing attitudes regarding the significance of power and of technique in sculling. One set of coaches feels that sufficient technique and plenty of power is okay whereas others view perfection of technique as the only solution.

Frank Cunningham develops into an English teacher and a rowing coach. Halberstam calls him a very unusual coach; he has a reputation for not pushing his rowers and yet somehow coming up with some...