The American eight ultimately beat the British crew, finishing second to China with a time of 05:59.47. Lapage and his eight crossed the 2000m mark to capture fifth place with a time of 06:01.30, less than two seconds after the U.S.A.

The rivalry between the pair took an interesting turn, though, when both Lapage and Jordan accepted spots in Harvard’s class of 2012 and on the heavyweight crew.

Jordan admitted that at first, there was definitely a strange dynamic between the two.

“It was a little bit weird,” he said. “I remember one time he had three Shrewsbury vests which he lent to a couple of guys our freshman year. One time I went out and saw that three or four guys were wearing Shrewsbury vests. That raised a few red flags in my mind subconsciously, since it gets burned in your mind after so many races,” Jordan explained.

Lapage also needed time to adjust to the concept of a former competitor as a teammate.

“It was weird...flipping straight over from racing against and almost developing a hatred—not based on character but because of Eton—to rowing with him and having him on my side,” Lapage noted.

Nevertheless, Lapage and Jordan rowed a very successful season. Their freshman eight turned out a 7-0 record in dual racing, and the crew captured silver at the Eastern Sprints and IRA National Championships.

This year, the two have not slowed their pace, and most recently they helped the No. 4 heavyweights win the Adams Cup versus No. 16 Navy and No. 18 Princeton. Their old high school rivalry has given way to an easy rapport.

“[Rowing in the 1V] is a reflection of both the talent and the hard work they’ve put in and the fact that they came to us with good experience,” Crimson coach Harry Parker said. “They row well together, and they get along well together.”