Dallas-native and Hockaday alumni Teal Cohen has made it to her first Olympics, but the first race for her and her teammates in quadruple sculls wasn’t without a big challenge.
“It's pretty difficult I think a lot of the crews out here have been more or less together for a couple years now and we're a pretty new combination,” Cohen said. “So, I think it's you know I feel like every race we've had together we've learned so much and I feel like the learning curve is still very steep. We definitely walked away with a lot of lessons learned and we're excited to put it all together.”
The team has not been working together long, but hoping they can hit a stride quickly to stay in the race for a medal.
They finished fourth out of four teams in their heat and now must row on Monday for their final chance to qualify.
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“Now we recover. I think we’re rowing tomorrow and just you know, sharpening things up a little bit. We have to find a little extra speed but other than that, just relaxing and getting prepared for the next one,” Cohen said.
They have been disciplined in their preparation and Cohen said they will continue that practice. She and her teammates had to skip the Opening Ceremony of the Olympics on Friday night to get ready for Saturday’s race.
She also made it a point to thank those back in Dallas who are cheering her on.
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“Thank you guys for watching and supporting. It means a lot and I think we are excited for the next race together,” Cohen said.
The team will be back in the water on Monday for the repechage. It's a term from rowing and wrestling that allows athletes who have been knocked out in the early rounds to have a second chance at qualifying for matches later on. They have to finish in the top two boats or be eliminated. The race is at 11:30 a.m. Central European time/ 4:30 a.m. CT.
