Some chose venues with a similar climate to Beijing and close by like the Greeks going to Japan. Some stayed at home to enjoy the familiarity like the Australian men’s eight using the Sydney’s Penrith Olympic course. Some, like the Iraqi rowers, were just trying to get to Beijing. Some went to altitude.

At this year’s World Rowing Under 23 Championships and World Rowing Senior Championships (in July) a number of athletes competed using these regattas as pre-Olympic race experience.

At the World Rowing Under 23 Championships Jitka Antosova and Gabriela Varekova of the Czech Republic wanted to defend their under 23 title in the double. “They wanted to compete in three large international events before the Olympic Games,” said fellow Czech Michal Vabrosek. It was not the strategy of the Czech team who remained in Italy for their Pre-Olympic training, but Vabrosek said Antosova and Varekova are special. The duo successfully defended their title.

El Salvador’s sole representative at Beijing in rowing, Camila Vargas raced at the under 23s in the women’s single and in the men’s single Lithuania’s Mindaugas Griskonis used the under 23s men’s single as part of his Olympic build up.

Romania’s Camelia Lupascu raced in the under 23 women’s quad before returning to Romania to join the Olympic team. Lupascu will be racing with Olympic Champion, Viorica Susanu in the women’s pair at Beijing.

Racing at the World Rowing Championships, current world champions in the women’s pair, Yuliya Bichyk and Natallia Helakh of Belarus joined their country’s four. They raced “because they need races” in the lead up to Beijing. They took away a gold medal from the women’s four.

The lightweight men’s eight for the United States at the World Rowing Championships included their Olympic lightweight four of Mike AltmanWill Daly, Tom Paradiso and Patrick Todd. They joined four others from their training group to race to gold and become world champions. The four called the World Champs a “tune up” in their Olympic preparation.

The Chinese chose not to send crews to the Junior, Under 23 or World Rowing Championships. This year their sole focus is Beijing.

Australian James Chapman, who is part of his country’s Olympic men’s eight stated on his website from his training base in Sydney. “I feel sorry for my family and friends who may have noticed that I’ve gone a bit quiet over the last week or so. It’s got to that time where I’m spending most, if not all, of my thoughts and day dreams on how I’m going to row in the heats. This is the time during my preparation that my focus starts to narrow and I visualise myself executing my job the best I can.”