Olympic Games Tokyo 2020: Flash Quotes 7.23.2021

Flash Quotes

Friday: 7.23.2021

Kara Kohler (Clayton, Calif./University of California, Berkeley)

Women's Single Sculls

…on today's race

"It was just so exciting to be racing – let some of that adrenaline out during the race and get some of the nerves out."

…on if the Olympic Village feels different from previous Games

"I wouldn't say a whole lot is different in terms of feel. When we're at the village, we are pretty internal and focused on what we are doing. There's not a whole lot of wandering around socializing even in normal years, so I'd say it's pretty similar – just the masks and all the COVID protocols (are different)."

…on her nine-year span between Olympics (2012 to 2021)

"It's prepared me even better. I feel like it means a lot more – those nine years of blood, sweat and tears to go into this. I feel more prepared and just appreciate it more – the experience."

Gevvie Stone (Newton, Mass./Princeton University)

Women's Double Sculls

…on today's race

"It's always a shock to the body to race 2k after all the short pieces and taper. I think that we did a decent job of ripping off that band-aide. We advanced directly, which is the first goal, and got that second-place spot, which will be helpful, hopefully, in lanes for the semifinals. There are things we can improve on – always want to go faster."

…on their start

"The advantage of having been down at the 500 (meter mark) before is that we do have confidence in our base speed and that we know it's a thing we are good at, so we don't freak out when we're down. We have confidence that we can move through the field and take advantage of the next 1,500 meters."

Kristi Wagner (Weston, Mass./Yale University)

Women's Double Sculls

…on their start

"We're going to try a few different things because it's not good to be down that much. We want to be in it more, and getting into the further rounds of racing, we're going to need to be in the race a little bit more than we were."

…on the Village experience

"It's been pretty cool. I think we had kind of a unique experience because we were one of the first teams in the village. It's really cool to see athletes from so many different sports. One cool thing is that some of the sports can practice right in the village and it's cool to see. You aren't just seeing someone skateboard around, you're seeing somebody that is competing in the Olympics in skateboarding, skateboarding around. People can also watch us erg in the basement if they wanted to, but so far, people haven't done that (laughing)."

Alie Rusher (West Bend, Wis./Stanford University)

Women's Quadruple Sculls

…on today's race

"I was just bummed that we were dropped off the start. We have a lot more speed than we showed today. I'm glad that the first race is over, and we can just focus on coming together with a lot of speed. Our practices have been going really well, so I think the only change that we are going to make is coming off the start a little more aggressive and a little sharper."

…on becoming the third member of her family to be an Olympian

"I'm really excited to join them. I definitely don't want the race that we had (today) to be my legacy, so I guess I'm excited to start at the bottom and have the whole rest of the regatta open to us."

…on advice her parents gave to her as fellow Olympians

"I talked to them a little bit last night. They just said, 'It's okay to be nervous. It's okay to have all these feelings' that I'm having, because to date it was kind of the most important race of my life. I think it was helpful to hear that it was okay to not feel like I was super in control of everything that was happening and that I have the practice experience and I have the mental training to just keep stepping through each race of the regatta."