For f**ks sake, this sounds more and more like the Athens branch meeting of the international Babysitters book appreciation club.
'Sally and friends mates again' Aw shucks. :?
They look like they're going to embark on a shock and awe campaign of peace, love and happiness. Give me a fricken break. She had a moment of mental weakness in a final, which in all fairness should NEVER have been allowed to happen due to the mass imcompetence of the selectors. Now instead of leaving Athens with even the satisfaction of finishing the race as a team, our mighty womens eights will leave holding hands and skipping through the terminal, throwing frangipanis and preaching eternal love, happiness and forgiveness. :roll:
(And if you're wondering why I have the shits all of a sudden, look at the LOL @ Roosters thread!!!!!)
Sally and team 'mates' again
August 25, 2004
By Damian Barrett, Shaun Phillips and Bronwyn Hurrell
AUSTRALIA'S troubled women's rowing crew last night publicly welcomed back Sally Robbins, but it was an unconvincing display.
None of the rowers specifically stated they would row with her again.
In an extraordinary move designed to end the furore over Robbins's collapse during the Olympic final, the team faced the media to declare it had repaired relationships soured by criticism of the Canberra-based rower.
The team earlier met Australian chef de mission John Coates and athlete liaison officer, former Wallabies captain John Eales.
Seven rowers and cox Katie Foulkes fronted. Monique Heinke was absent because she had spent the previous night outside the Olympic village with her husband.
Coates said he had refrained from sanctioning Julia Wilson and Kyeema Doyle despite their breach of team protocol in criticising Robbins.
After the race, Wilson said: "There was nothing wrong with the boat, there was nothing wrong with the seven other girls around me. We had nine in the boat (including cox), but only eight operating."
Wilson said she regretted the comments.
"I was caught up in the moment and it was unfortunate I had Channel 7 come to me straight away without having time to get my thoughts on what had just happened," she said.
"I have unconditional trust (in Robbins). I have enjoyed working with you and the reason I was so emotional afterwards is because I admire the athlete you are and you are one of my best friends.
"My original reaction was disappointment and devastation, but we just move on."
Wilson said Robbins would still be a bridesmaid at her wedding.
Doyle twice avoided answering when asked if she would be happy rowing again with Robbins.
On Monday she had said: "I think we should be angry at coaches for not seeing this earlier on.
"We should be angry at selection processes and the hierarchy above this."
Yesterday, choking back tears, Doyle said she had a bitter taste in her mouth.
"I definitely will be back . . . I'm happy to represent Australia whether it's the single sculls, the quads, the eights," she said.
"I would do whatever it takes to get in that boat and take what I believe I've earned and I deserve."
Robbins admitted her actions in the final were not the first time she had stopped rowing in a race. "What happened out there on Sunday has happened to me before (in 2002)," she said.
"(But) as a group we came together and faced it like any other issue, and we have dealt with it as a group and have put in strategies and I have been to see sports psychologists and had numerous physiology tests," she said.
"It is important to say that part of it has been anxiety. Big race, the Olympic final.
"Any athlete's pinnacle of a career is to be in an Olympic final and anxiety definitely played a part."
Robbins admitted regaining the trust of the eights crew and other Australian rowers would be a difficult task.
"I think it will be a long process and I think that I will be back and I will be rowing with these girls again, eventually," Robbins said.
But Rachael Taylor, the Olympic medallist who revealed how Robbins had capitulated at the 2002 world championships, said crew members had not forgiven.
Taylor said she had received text messages from four crew members, who she said had been effectively gagged by the AOC.
"They're saying thank you for putting our point of view across," she said.
Taylor had slammed Robbins's selection.
"I don't think anyone would agree to jump in the boat with Sally again," she said yesterday.
The crew finished last in Sunday's final after Robbins stopped rowing about 650m from finish.
Robbins said medical tests since the final revealed possible causes for her stress during races.
"What has come about from (the testing) is they know I am a very physical athlete and I do build up lactic (acid) very quickly, and I think that is what has been conceded," Robbins said.
Swim star Ian Thorpe was sympathetic to Robbins yesterday - but Cathy Freeman wasn't.
"It's part of being in the Australian team . . . when you get up for a relay swim you will give your best," Thorpe said.
"If you have a disappointing performance you accept that as long as you were willing to give it your all."
Freeman was less forgiving. "From a distance, to give up is almost very un-Australian," she said.
Public sympathy for Robbins held sway, with 360 messages of support.
One read: "You pushed yourself to the limit, which is what the Olympics is all about."
Prime Minister John Howard urged unity. Opposition Leader Mark Latham called for understanding.
Coates defended Robbins's selection. "She was amongst the best performing through a very comprehensive selection process," he said.
Herald Sun
