all the major sculling titles in the United States, and to me, a chance to compete in the Diamond had become the most important thing in my life. For years, I had been pointing for it. Then on the dock, just a few hours before I was to sail, I received a cable. It said I had been disqualified. The reason, while never officially announced, was because I had served an apprenticeship as a bricklayer, and the stewards felt that a man who worked with his hands had an advantage over a gentleman. This was the bitterest disappointment I have ever had. Nothing would console me then. "Whatever is, is best," my father said. But I refused to believe it.