Triple whammy from golden girls
The Herald is counting down New Zealand’s 25 greatest Olympians. Andrew Alderson profiles No 5, rowing twins Caroline and Georgina EversSwindell
Caroline Meyer and Georgina Earl achieved New Zealand Olympic immortality by less than the length of this sentence on August 16, 2008. On Beijing’s Shunyi course, with Caroline driving the stroke seat and Georgina commanding the bow, they delivered rowing’s triple double — twin sisters double sculling to victory at consecutive Games. The only time the tandem — then operating under the household name of EversSwindell — led was at the finish line. The 0.01s margin of victory remains the narrowest in Olympic history.
They advanced from fourth at the 500m mark to second by the 1000m. From there the duo embarked on what coach Richard Tonks quipped was “the slowest overtaking move” he had witnessed, to beat the Germans.
“We rowed through the Chinese and the British, which left Germany ahead on our right,” Georgina says. “I said to K [Caroline’s nickname] ‘we’re gaining’ ...
“I had no idea of the result. We were catching our breath, and just happy the pain had stopped, when we heard a cheer from the grand-
Hnzherald.co.nz For the full story and video stand. The big screen faced away from us and, after what felt like a couple of minutes, the umpire boat came over and said, ‘Congratulations, New Zealand, you’ve won.’ We said, ‘Are you sure?’ It was surreal.”
The twins captured the public imagination with their athleticism, symmetry and an intuition to thwart opposition. However, their destiny was tracking differently in the Beijing lead-up.
Eight weeks before, at the World Cup in Lucerne, they failed to make the final. They finished last in their heat and the repechage, beaten by crews who hadn’t qualified for the Games. A sports psychologist was summoned to repair their mojo. “Our parents went to Beijing and thought they’d be mopping up tears rather than celebrating a win,” Georgina says. The 2004 victory at Athens was a doddle by comparison. The twins were favourites to become New Zealand’s first women rowing gold medallists on the back of two world championships. They beat Germany by 0.99s, but led from the start.
Silence descended on their room the previous evening as both contemplated the race that would change their lives.
“I was incredibly nervous,” Georgina says. “It had been a long week because we had qualified from our heat.
“You never knew who was saving themselves, but we had confidence because Richard was our coach. Not once did I doubt we hadn’t done enough training.”
“I don’t think we enjoyed it as much as we should have,” Caroline says of the instant adulation. “But it started some great sponsor relationships [like with Beef and Lamb New Zealand].
“It was generally ‘situation normal’ in Cambridge, but New Zealand’s a small country and I suppose we were in the news. Strangers came up to offer congratulations, which was weird but lovely. People would also pull up in cars and yell out, ‘Are you beef or lamb?’”
The twins’ families are settled in Cromwell with three children apiece. The gold medals live in the sock drawers, but the memories are indelible.