The Crimson steamed away, lengthening the gap to two seats of open water at the finish.

This impressively powerful performance by Harvard casts doubts over the possibility that Penn can catch the Crimson before the Olympic trials a month from now. Quite clearly Pennsylvania has mustered its best; and quite simply, it was not enough.

Pennsylvania, Vesper, and Harvard have been negotiating about the possibility of racing each other before all three head West early in July to train for the trials near Los Angeles. So far no firm date has been set.

Harvard faces another contest before the trials begin: the 103rd annual Harvard-Yale Race. "The Boat Race," as it is known to more traditional buffs, is the oldest intercollegiate athletic contest of any kind in the United States.

Gruelling Course

The Varsity races over a gruelling four-mile course on the Thames River in New London, Conn. The JV race is three miles; the freshman, two miles. Harvard should win all three contests in the Regatta, though Yale might make a strong showing with its junior varsity, which finished a length back of the Crimson at the Worcester Sprints a month ago.

Joe Burke, heavyweight coach at the University of Pennsylvania, has suggested that Harvard might be hurt in Olympic Competition by having to train for a race over such a long distance.

All international competition is raced over a 2000 meter course. This year the normal mile and three quarters distance for heavyweight crew was shortened to 2000 meters, a half-mile reduction. Burke's oarsmen will be competing in the Intercollegiate Rowing Association championship regatta on the same day as the Harvard-Yale race.

The IRA's bring together crews from the entire nation, and thus provide a good test of relative national strength.

But Harvard and Yale insist on remaining aloof from that test, a policy which has generated mild irritation among Harvard fans who would like to see the Crimson racing with real competition, especially in these high-glory years of Harvard Crew. Pennsylvania is favored to win the IRA's again this year, as it did last year.

After the Yale Race, the Harvard Senior Varsity will choose four of its oarsmen to enter the four-with-cox class at the Olympic trials. Stiff competition can be expected from the so called Olympic Development Clinics located at M.I.T. in the East, and Seattle, Wash., in the West. Sterner challenges, however, will probably grow out of the losing eights, which will split up to try to take the four-with-cox berth.

After losing to Vesper in 1964, Harvard split its varsity and won the right to represent the U.S. at Tokyo in this class. Harvard won the consolation race among the "four-with," which did not make it to the Tokyo finals.

Should Harvard lose to Vesper or Penn in the eight-man shell class this year it would split up and go with the four-with-cox prize again.

The main difficulty experienced by the Crimson varsity heavyweights this year has been a slow start. Harvard literally has never been able to jump its rivals off the starting line in any race this spring.

The Crimson fell behind by as much as three-quarters of a length in all contests except the Worcester sprints, and only began to come back after a quarter of the race was over. This recurring pattern caused concern. After the Adams Cup Race, Harvard began using a lower-cadence start, which seems to work better.