U.S. Men’s Eight Not Impressive to Coach

Things aren’t going so well for the U.S. men’s eight crew that was supposed to revive an American gold-medal tradition.

Although the three-time defending world champions won a qualifying heat today at Penrith, Australia, to advance to Sunday’s finals, they did so by a mere .02 of a second. They were second in a first-round race Monday.

“The speed they’re doing now isn’t what they were doing a month ago,” Coach Mike Teti said. “Something’s wrong.”

The women’s eight won its heat and the women’s quadruple sculls finished second in another, sending both to the finals. A second-place finish for the men’s lightweight double sculls advanced it to a semifinal Friday.

The United States, the only country to qualify in all 14 events, has yet to lose a boat through two rounds of qualifying.