The eights race includes two to six 60 foot long shells, each competing with eight rowers and their coxswain - nine bodies working as one. What follows are 2,000 meters, approximately 240 strokes, of explosive yet controlled fury to the finish line. You can appreciate the tension as [you] slowly back into the starting station - it's like sitting on a bomb and being forced to watch the quickly burning fuse.

J.J. Forster Georgetown University