Summary

The starting gun fired. For one horrific moment, the American team sat dead in the water. Not only were they in the worst lanes, but they had missed the start and were now even further behind the leaders. The German and Italian teams, who had been awarded the best lane assignments, took an early lead. Moch called for his crew to pick up their pace and was horrified to see that Hume was unresponsive in his seat. Although he was still rowing, Hume’s eyes were closed and he acted as if he couldn’t hear Moch at all. As the race pounded on, Moch grew more and more alarmed as his screams to pick up the pace went completely unnoticed by his stroke. In the stands, the audience watched as the American team dropped so far behind that no...