WEST WINDSOR, N.J. — Minutes after a soupy fog had evaporated into a clear blue sky one recent morning, members of the United States women’s rowing team climbed into their sculling boats and went out for a post-world championships paddle.
About two dozen women in either doubles or singles were here on Mercer Lake, one of the national team training centers. Each of their shells cut through the water like a giant, delicate water bug, and the athletes barely broke a sweat in a training session that amounted to rowing’s version of a jog.
There certainly did not seem to be any magic at work, no evidence why this rowing program, over the last decade, has become one of the great dynasties in the sport.