THE CANADIAN PRESS
TORONTO — When the Canadian men’s pair was disqualified from the semifinals at the Athens Olympics it was particularly heartbreaking for Victoria rower Dave Calder.
He and teammate Chris Jarvis left their lane in the final metres of the race and despite repeated appeals, they weren’t allowed to race in the final.
Calder was 26 at the time and had a baby daughter and wife at home. He had spent countless hours away from his family training and competing in the years leading up to the Olympics.
So despite the excruciating disappointment, Calder decided it was time to retire and get on with his life.
And that’s what he did for the three years following the Athens Games.
But there was unfinished business. Ending his rowing career with a disqualification just wasn’t the way he wanted to go out and about a year ago, he decided to return to rowing full-time.
Next month in Beijing he’ll compete at his third Olympics.
"What I came back for was to be able to just lay it out there and actually finish the race," he said in a recent interview during a fundraiser in Toronto. "I feel like when I have that opportunity, it’s going to be success."
Calder, now 30, is back in the men’s pair, this time with Scott Frandsen of Kelowna, B.C.
He and Frandsen secured their spot in Beijing at an Olympic qualifier in Poland in June, winning all of their races in the regatta.
"Every time we’ve been in the pair together, it’s just clicked," said Frandsen, who has been teamed with Calder since the spring. "We’ve proven over the past few weeks that we’re a contender."
But returning to the life of a full-time athlete was no easy decision for Calder. He had major responsibilities like a mortgage, four-year-old daughter Mira and a full-time job as a community relations adviser for the provincial government to consider.
In the end, he and his wife Rachel concluded that the sacrifices would be worth another shot at the Olympics.
"We decided that we could scrape by," he said. "We could do it."
Calder has continued working part-time for the B.C. Ministry of Energy, Mines and Petroleum Resources, working remotely on his laptop whenever he can find the time. That means he might be firing up the computer in the boathouse after an exhausting morning workout or dashing off to a coffee shop to put in a couple hours in between rows.
Most of his teammates don’t have to worry about a day job since they’ve been in the system for the past four years and getting support from Sport Canada. Calder says there’s no way he could have returned to rowing without his part-time salary.
"They made it feasible," he said of his employer. "The emotional support from my co-workers there has been incredible too."
Rachel’s backing has also been key since she’s taken on most of the responsibilities at home while Calder balances training and his job.
"She gets what this means to me, and really, what it means to us," he said of Rachel, whose job as a social worker is the family’s main source of income right now. "She was completely supportive. She didn’t even hesitate."
But it was risky. Calder had been away from the sport for three years and there was no guarantee he would end up going to the Olympics. Earning a seat would be hard work. With so much at stake, he had to be sure he could do it.
"I had to be careful because I was going out on a limb," said Calder. "I was 29 at the time. I’m 30 now, I had taken three years off. I probably had done 10 workouts the entire three years. I needed to test myself before I really put myself out there."
He spent all of last August, while the Canadian team was in Munich at the world championships, training and building up his fitness.
At the end of the month, he went through some testing and it was clear he could contend for a spot on the Canadian team. That’s when he quit his job and returned to rowing full-time.
.Canadian men’s coach Mike Spracklen has been impressed with Calder’s comeback.
"It’s amazing how well he’s done having had so long off," said Spracklen. "Normally guys can come back if they have maintained a reasonable level of fitness. He must have retained some fitness but he certainly didn’t do it rowing. It is a credit to him."
.Frandsen and Calder have had promising results this year. In addition to winning the Olympic qualifier, they also beat world champion Australia for gold at a World Cup regatta in June.
.Spracklen says they’ve had some minor injury setbacks recently but he’s confident if they’re healthy, the podium is within their reach in Beijing.
"They have already beaten the best in the world," said Spracklen. "Of course the standard raises and they have to raise with it."
Calder, who was also a member of the men’s eight that finished seventh at the 2000 Sydney Olympics, says he learned plenty from his experience in Athens and has now put it behind him.
"One of Scott’s and my objectives is to forge our own story and create our own reality," said Calder. "It doesn’t have to do with that experience or his experience."
Frandsen also left Athens disappointed. He was in the highly touted world champion men’s eight that finished a shocking fifth.
"We’re trying to leave that in Athens," said Frandsen.
.While Calder has experienced two Olympic Games he says neither has given him the opportunity to have the race of his life. He hopes it will all come together on Aug. 16, the day of the men’s pair final in Beijing.
"Who knows where I’ll end up in the ranking," he said. "In a way, it doesn’t really matter. It could be one, it could be four but I’m striving for that career-ending race."
.But will it really be the end this time? Calder says there’s no way he’ll still be rowing four years from now in London.
"I’m going to be 34 at the next Olympics," he said with a laugh. "And my wife isn’t going to let me do it."
Both Rachel and Mira will be in Beijing to cheer him on. They booked the trip as soon as Calder and Frandsen qualified.
"We put it on a credit card," he said with a smile. "I don’t know how we’re going to pay for it yet."
