KEY POINTS:
Legendary crooner Bing Crosby used to extoll the virtues of accentuating the positive, eliminating the negative.
And that's the plan for Caroline and Georgina Evers-Swindell as they consign an awful European campaign to history in search of the old magic in time for the Beijing Olympics.
The defending
Olympic double scull champions missed their first World Cup regatta in Lucerne at the end of May because of illness. The second, in Poznan, Poland last month was a disaster - last in their heat and repechage before winning the B final, which, if nothing else, was a new experience.
The search for answers began when they returned to rowing's headquarters at Lake Karapiro a month ago. The disappointment should help as a powerful motivator. Poland will be in the backs of their minds in China, but with a positive twist to it.
"It's pretty hard to forget such a horrible performance and experience," Caroline Evers-Swindell said last night. "But we can't do anything about it. The damage has been done."
Evers-Swindell said they and coach Richard Tonks are at a loss to figure out precisely why things went so awry in Poland.
"There isn't one answer. Tell you what, if there was, our job and Richard's job over the last few weeks would have been a lot easier. There's no real answers, and no excuses."
She acknowledged they had technically rowed poorly, and that spun off into physically feeling below par.
It all added up to a stinker, especially considering the formidable record the 29-year-old twins have put up since winning silver at the world championships in 2001. Apart from the Olympic gold, there have been three world championship crowns, and a host of World Cup wins.
And Caroline knows the critics back home were wondering if Poland was a pointer to their Beijing chances.
"People can be harsh and say what they like, but no one is harder on us than ourselves. Now it's a matter of trying to concentrate on Beijing, rather than dwell on the past."
What they probably find galling too, is that Caroline believes their rivals are not rowing as quickly as the sisters did when they triumphed in Athens four years ago. But their experience this season has sharpened the minds on what lies ahead.
"Our first aim is make top six (A final). That's going to be a huge challenge. Going into Athens we wouldn't have thought twice about making the A final," Caroline added.
It is not the first time the pair have been in a tough spot. Caroline was injured for several weeks last year and wondered if she'd get back to her best.
"And in 2005, we came second in a World Cup race and I thought the world had ended. It's not a pleasant situation but they say you learn from it. At the time [in Poland] I didn't want to go and race the B final. It was a horrible feeling, but I'm really pleased we did."
The emphasis since returning has been on plenty of mileage. The peaking process has not kicked in yet so "we're not feeling very fresh but it's all in a good cause", she added. The New Zealand squad heads for China on Sunday.
