Rowing Canada has fired coach Mike Spracklen of Victoria, the man who guided the Canadian mens eight to gold medals at the 1992 Barcelona and 2008 Beijing Olympics and to the silver medal this past summer at the London Games.
Its obviously very disappointing but Ive been expecting it for a long time, said the 74-year-old Spracklen, in admitting to an uneasy relationship with Rowing Canada, despite the world prominence he brought to the program.
They [Rowing Canada] have been kind of niggling at me for a long time. Ive felt insecure in this position for several years. But its not the end of the world. I will definitely stay in coaching. Ive got something to offer somebody somewhere. Ive got a few more years left in coaching and I want to use them in a place where they want me. I will rest for a few days and decide what to do.
Spracklen, a native of Great Britain, was beloved by his Olympic-medallist Canadian eights crews.
The sun has gone down on Elk Lake in more ways than one, said Kevin Light of Sidney, a member of Spracklens 2008 Beijing Olympic gold-medallist crew and two world championship crews.
He brought a winning record and attitude and respectability. Mike shaped our characters and how we approached the rest of our lives.
Spracklen also coached the Canadian mens eight to four world titles and Silken Laumann of Victoria to her lauded comeback-from-injury medal in women's singles at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics.
The athletes have been tremendous, said Spracklen.
Light could not hide his feelings about the move.
I feel very angry about this, said the Stelly's grad.
Spracklen said he was called into a meeting Monday at Elk Lake and informed of the decision.
We thank Mike for his tremendous contributions to Canadian rowing, and we know he will be missed by many of the athletes he has worked with, said Rowing Canada high-performance director Peter Cookson, in a release.
Mike has left a significant legacy and we respect and celebrate his many achievements.
The move is part of a wider Rowing Canada reorganization because of what were considered underachieving overall results at London 2012 after the four-medal performance at Beijing 2008.
Our goal is to look to the future and put as many crews on the podium as possible, added Cookson. Two medals [in London] does not meet our expectations we are driven to improve on this, and I have every confidence that our new coaching and training centre structure will give our athletes what they need to reach their medal potential.
John Keogh, who coached the Canadian womens eight to the silver medal in London, has been named performance director for the national womens training centre in London, Ont.
A new performance director for the national mens program, based at Elk Lake, will be announced at a later date.
