The headline this morning in New Zealand's Sunday Star Times might as well have declared, "Dewey Wins!"

"Waddell will be our Olympic single sculls rep," blared the banner atop the the column written by former world rowing champion Philippa Hogan-Baker, echoing the opinion of most of the pundits who just knew Rob Waddell, the 2000 Olympic gold medalist in the single sculls, was again going to destroy three-time world champion Mahe Drysdale today in Round One of New Zealand's winner-take-all Olympic trials (see previous Indie Sport posts, Knockout and Singled Out).

Wrong!

Mahe Drysdale, who only a week ago was given up for dead after Waddell shredded him by three lengths in the New Zealand National Championship, resurrected himself with a brilliant length-and-a-half victory in flat, windless conditions. Unlike last week, in which Waddell crushed the field off the start, Drysdale today bolted to the front off the line. Waddell caught him by the 500 meter mark, but Drysdale remained unflappable, understroking Waddell's cadence of 35-36 with a steady, confident 34 strokes per minute.

By the 1500 meter mark he'd forged a one length lead that he lengthened as a spent-looking Waddell conceded, throttled down his engine, and conserved whatever energy he might for Round Two, scheduled for tomorrow. Drysdale, as one might expect, appeared relieved. He has been under enormous pressure since Waddell returned from retirement and began beating him like a drum in their recent head to head meetings, winning three out of four, including last weekend's drubbing.

But as we know, statistics are mere numbers that can't measure the soul of an athlete. Only a performance such as the one Mahe Drysdale laid down today reveals the character within and what we saw on the water of Lake Karapiro was the splendid, immeasurable heart of a champion.