Graves brothers get another shot at making Olympic rowing team
For the Graves brothers, rowing has always been a family affair. But when Peter qualified for the 2012 Olympics in the men’s quadruple sculls while his brothers, Tom and John, didn’t make the cut with other boats, he was “crushed” to the be only sibling representing Team USA in London.
But now, Peter, 31, has a direct way to help John, 28, reach the Rio team, as the pair make up half the U.S. quadruple sculls boat competing at the Final Olympic Qualification Regatta in Lucerne, Switzerland, starting Sunday.
“That’s the best part of this right now — I can physically help John make the team,” said Peter, who’s in the bow seat with John in front of him in the two seat. “That’s 100 percent one of my drives and motivations on the water, just get the guy in front of me ahead of every other boat and keep doing it until we make the team.”
Peter and John, along with teammates Ben Davison and Ben Dann, won the quadruple sculls at the U.S. Olympic Team Trials in Sarasota, Fla., in April. Their victory qualified them to race in Lucerne, which will be their first international competition together. To ensure the USA is represented in the event in Rio, the boat must finish in the top two.
Introduced to the sport at ages 9 and 6 by their rower father, Harry Graves, Peter and John began racing in the same boat in 2014, after previously competing in other quad, double and single sculls boats.
They now practice in Vermont at the Craftsbury Sculling Center, which pays for their training and travel in return for working there and doing odd jobs, like maintaining ski trails, Peter said.
Although they credit their current coach, Larry Gluckman — who coached Peter, John and Tom, 33, at Trinity College — with much of their boat’s success in the last year, they said their father still lends a hand at every important turn.
“The role my dad plays is such a crucial one, orchestrating things behind the scenes,” John said. “He’s willing to lay on the ground so we can walk over. He’s very selfless and just wants to see us have the best opportunities possible.”
Because communication in the boat is crucial, they agreed intuitively reading each other’s minds provides a competitive advantage. They also don’t question the other’s intentions or commitment to qualifying for the Olympics.
Despite having what Peter described as a strong “unspoken bond,” they’re still competitive as siblings — especially in the weight room — and spending three to four hours with each other in the boat every day is challenging sometimes.
“We can be pretty critical of each other, but at the end of the day, we’re still brothers,” John said. “Peter and I can, to the outside world, look like we’re ripping each other’s heads off, but 20 minutes later, it’s going to be fine. We can move on.”
To combat the struggles of intensely training together, they make sure to physically take time apart when possible. During down time at the Olympic trials, Peter surfed while John took in a baseball game.
As teammates, they want to race the best and be the best in the world. One step closer to earning a trip to Rio, their goals remain in front of them.
“We’re excited that we won the trials, but it’s also very tempered by the fact that we have a massive task ahead of us to qualify,” Peter said. “(But) I think we’re all relieved that things are going in the right direction. The boat feels good. It feels fast.”