KEY POINTS:
Whoever organised the press conference seating arrangements for five of New Zealand's Olympic rowers yesterday knows a bit about imagery.
Then again, it might have been by accident that Rob Waddell and Mahe Drysdale were positioned front and centre. Either way, they presented an imposing sight and - with all due respect to Storm Uru, Emma Twigg, section manager Andrew Matheson and Carl Meyer parked either side - the eye tended to be drawn back to the Big Two.
The finish line is in sight for these two men after a remarkable season in which they duelled for a plum job, and now have the real prospect of both leaving Beijing with a gold medal draped round their necks and with personal ambitions sated.
The background is well known. Waddell, Sydney 2000 Olympic single scull champion after two consecutive world titles, and Drysdale, the world's finest for the last three years, duelled for the single seat in a best-of-three at Lake Karapiro in one of New Zealand sport's most gripping contests of the year.
Drysdale won the decider, Waddell's atrial fibrillation heart problem returning at the most inopportune moment 300m into the showdown.
Now several months on, Waddell and Nathan Cohen, with two World Cup titles in the double sculls in their pocket, are among the favourites when the heats start on Saturday.
Waddell talked yesterday of the "healthy rivalry" with Drysdale earlier in the year.
"I thought it was a very good thing for all of us and hopefully it will be proven in the next couple of weeks what a good thing it was."
Their paths have rarely crossed since the Karapiro shootout, as they trained in different parts of the world, coming together only for the World Cup regattas in Lucerne and Poznan.
"I've been getting on with my job, he's been getting on with his, so we haven't had a lot to do with each other," Waddell said.
The past is just that, and Waddell is sold on the partnership with Cohen - physically they are poles apart but have been able to blend their skills impressively.
"Technically we had a few things to work through but right from the start it felt fast," Waddell said. "We get on very well as people and it's just a case of making the blades go in the water and out at the same time."
Waddell reckons he has never enjoyed sculling more than this year and clearly enjoys working with Cohen. "He's impressed me the further we've got into the season. His athleticism is a great attribute, but what stands out most to me is his attitude. It's just first-class in every way."
And what of Drysdale? He had what he believed his best day of training in months on Monday. His thinking is almost identical to Waddell's in at least one respect.
Here's Waddell on their chances in the double sculls final: "We want to come down course as fast as we can and we'll be hard to beat if we do that."
And Drysdale on his prospects: "I'm aiming to improve every day, making myself as good as I can be for the final. If I have my best race then, then I'm going to be hard to beat."
There is a thread of confidence in their talents which true champions possess, an inner self-belief that if they get it right they'll be tough to topple.
Spare a thought for Meyer and his coxless four mates Eric Murray, Hamish Bond and James Dallinger. World champions last year, this season they've been on Struggle St.
"We didn't realise we've lost a lot of speed. It's frustrating. It's a simple sport, you think, and why can't we do what we were able to a year ago," Meyer said. What they wouldn't give to be in the same position as the two scullers, used to being on the mountaintop and doing everything right to stay there in Beijing.
