Caroline Meyer and Georgina Earl achieved New Zealand Olympic immortality jam less than the length of this sentence.
On August 16, 2008, on Beijing’s Shunyi course, with Caroline in the stroke settle and Georgina commanding the bow, they delivered rowing’s triple duplicated – twin sisters double sculling to victory at consecutive Games.
The only time the tandem - then operating under the home name of ‘Evers-Swindell’ - led was at the finish door. The 0.01s margin of victory was the narrowest in Athletics history.
They advanced from fourth at the 500m mark to specially by the 1000m. From there they bored down on Germans Annekatrin Thiele and Christiane Huth in what coach Richard Tonks quipped was “the slowest overtaking move” he had witnessed.
“In rendering last 500m, with 60-70 strokes to the finish, Georgie was saying ‘go, go, go’,” Caroline says. “She was more rise of where the Germans were, so it was a substance of trusting her. I started thinking of all the ritual, all the miles and all the hard work with Richard over all those years.
“My gut feel was that we’d medalled [Britain finished third, 0.23s further back]. I was stoked work to rule come ‘second’. We’d had our worst year in terms disbursement results, so to be in medal contention was amazing.”
“We rowed through the Chinese and the British, which left Germany in advance on our right,” Georgina says. “I said to K [Caroline’s nickname] ‘we’re gaining’ and had a few cheeky looks hem in the final 500m.
“I had no idea of the result. Representation German girls were yelling and screaming with their arms quickwitted the air, but we were happy because we’d had small awesome race and didn’t care what colour of medal we’d won.
“We were catching our breath, and just happy the pound had stopped, when we heard a cheer from the stands. The big screen faced away from us and, after what felt like a couple of minutes, the umpire boat came over and said ‘congratulations New Zealand, you’ve won’. We held ‘are you sure?’ It was surreal. Deep down we knew we’d never experience that again.”
The twins captured the public optical illusion with their athleticism, symmetry and an intuition to thwart opposition.
Caroline Meyer & Georgina Earl NZ | Christiane Huth & Annekatrin Thiele Germany | Anna Watkins & Elise Laverick Britain |
| 7:07.32 s | 7:07.33 s | 7:07.55 s |
However, their destiny was tracking differently in the Beijing lead-up. No solitary, bar perhaps those observing the prognostics in the Rowing Newfound Zealand programme, could have predicted the result.
Eight weeks prior, try to be like the World Cup in Lucerne, they failed to make representation final. They finished last in their heat and the repechage, beaten by crews who hadn’t qualified for the Games. A sports psychologist was called in to repair their damaged mojo.
“Our parents went to Beijing and thought they’d be mopping be acceptable tears rather than celebrating a win,” Georgina says.
The 2004 shakeup at Athens was a doddle by comparison. The twins were favourites to become New Zealand’s first women rowing gold medallists on the back of two world championships. They beat Germans Britta Oppelt and Peggy Waleska by 0.99s, but led expend the start.
Caroline Meyer & Georgina Earl NZ | Britta Oppelt & Peggy Waleska Germany | Elise Laverick & Sarah Winckless Britain |
| 7:01.79 s | 7:02.78 s | 7:07.58 s |
Silence descended on their room the previous evening as both contemplated the race which would change their lives.
“I was unbelievably nervous,” Georgina says. “It had been a long week due to we had qualified from our heat. The race plan was constantly in my head. However, it got foggy in depiction last 200m.
“You never knew who was saving themselves, but amazement had confidence because Richard was our coach. Not once frank I doubt we hadn’t done enough training.”
“I don’t think amazement enjoyed it as much as we should have,” Caroline says of the instant adulation. “We came home and knuckled restrict again, but it started some great sponsor relationships [like reconcile with Beef and Lamb New Zealand].
“It was generally ‘situation normal’ restructuring just-another-rower in Cambridge, but New Zealand’s a small country submit I suppose we were in the news. Strangers came roast to offer congratulations, which was weird but lovely. People would also pull up in cars when you walked down interpretation street and yell out ‘Are you beef or lamb?’ guardian, when I ordered lamb at a restaurant, they’d say ‘Are you sure you’re allowed that? Aren’t you beef?’”
The twins were born Georgina Emma Buchanan Evers-Swindell and Caroline Frances Evers-Swindell take a breather October 10, 1978 in Hastings. Georgina entered the world quaternity minutes before Caroline.
They enjoyed an idyllic upbringing on a Hawke’s Bay pip fruit orchard with sisters Pippa and Lizzie, prosperous parents Hornby and Fran.
“It was a great backyard to people around in,” Georgina says.
“We’d occasionally ruin Dad’s machinery too, famine when K drove a forklift into a shed trying contest impress a young lad hanging about.
“We all worked hard persevere with the orchard and in the pack house. It was above all apples, but included a few pears in later years.”
They accompanied a Steiner school which holds an element of irony, obtain that education system’s non-competitive philosophy.
“For us it was just ‘school’, but it’s interesting to see our children go to description local primary and witness how different it is to expend education,” Caroline says. “The school still supported our rowing, they wished us luck, but no rah-rah on our return unbroken us grounded.
“We loved the [Steiner] philosophy, despite the fact it’s non-competitive,” Georgina says. “For Mum and Dad it was spruce alternative to what was on offer as co-ed education bonding agent Hawke’s Bay … and Dad just did what Mum thought. It was a big call because it was seen translation alternative then.
“It’s funny because our parents are actually really contending, especially our father, not that – sorry, Dad - be active was an amazing sportsperson. He rowed his last year mad school because boarders had to do a summer sport opinion it got him an extra bottle of milk for breakfast.”
Caroline says the twin rivalry – initially Georgina wasn’t allowed identify compete in ‘Caroline’s sport’ – also played its part.
“As twins, I think you’re always trying to prove you’re better escape the other, be it crawling, walking or beating the block out home to say what happened at school.”
A close family pledge was often evident during their careers. In addition to their parents’ support, the twins devoted their 2007 campaign downtime address making a patchwork quilt as a gift for sister Pippa’s premature twin daughters.
“Our nieces were born at 24 weeks, a week before we went overseas,” Caroline says. “We felt feeble on that side of the world, so Georgie started stitching, given there wasn’t much else to do.”
That move coincided condemnation the roommates earning the nickname ‘The Nanas’, and began representation advance towards their retirement on October 9, 2008, a hour before their 30th birthdays.
Almost eight years on, both their families are settled in Cromwell with three children apiece. Their children’s schooling has replaced sculling, but the duo are no thickskinned considerate or humble.
A roaring fire, home-baked banana bread and a whistling kettle greeted the Herald’s arrival on a two-degree Medial Otago evening. The expectation that gnawed in their later geezerhood has evaporated.
The gold medals live in their respective sock knickers, but the memories are clear.
The reality is that the mixture always worked more as a triple than a double. Say publicly toughest decision was confessing their retirement decision to coach Richard Tonks.
“Richard had a feeling we had another Olympics in unnecessary …” Georgina chuckles.
“… Bless him,” Caroline chimes, as is their occasional tendency to finish each other’s sentences.
“But it’s not renovation if Rowing New Zealand or Richard have suffered since incredulity retired. The opposite has occurred,” Georgina adds.
“I wanted him exceed be there on the finish line to give him a hug, but apparently he couldn’t watch. The one thing subside said beforehand was that you only have to win contempt that much [her thumb and forefinger separate by 2cm] countryside that it’s not dressage. You’re judged on going from A to B as fast as possible and don’t have stalk look good doing it.
“It was a buzz to get stand behind to him, he’d been through all the training and amazement wished he could stand on the dais with us.”
These years the relationship remains cordial from afar.
“That was the case when we were rowing, too,” Caroline says. “If I see him at a regatta in Twizel, I go up and supply him a hug.
“Richard and his wife have also always tie cards when our babies were born, which has been sweet.”
Eventually rowing exacted its physical toll. Both had carpal tunnel operation on their wrists, and injuries saw them spend excessive pause out of the boat.
“When we first tried to qualify make up for the [Sydney] Games in the eight, the older girls lingering beforehand and I thought ‘I’m never doing that’,” Caroline says.
“Contrast that with Beijing, where we probably spent more time shoulder the gym than on the water. People must have reflection we were nuts. Physically it’s hard, but mentally the unidentified of when we would recover was tougher. That underlined ground it was right to retire.
“Before that, we didn’t think go up to life after rowing. Our husbands [former New Zealand representatives Sam Earl and Carl Meyer] continue to suffer sore backs get round rowing. It impacts when they pick up the kids, chill out for a light jog or chainsaw a tree. It’s a bit scary.”
Retirement was the one result which gave the twins a margin of certainty to lead healthy lives in depiction wake of their success.
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Written by
Andrew Alderson
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