'They're like feral animals': Canadian rowers weaponize emotions for Paris 2024

Don't expect Jenny Casson and Jill Moffatt to be the picture of serenity as they sit in their boat, waiting for races to start at the Paris Olympics. 

Since coming 12th in women's lightweight double sculls at the Tokyo Games, the pair have swapped coaches and tapped into something unique — the emotions that fuel their competitive drive. 

Those emotions can be raw and haven't always been embraced, especially in women's sports, said their coach Jeremy Ivey.

"When they're sitting at the start line, they're like feral animals, ready to just rip somebody's throat out," he said. 

"I think, a lot of times people have said 'If you're worried, if you're nervous, that's a bad place to be.'

Well you know what? You're at the Olympics, you're at the world championships, you're on the biggest stage. You're going to have a lot of adrenalin; you're going to want to go for it. So [we're] running toward those feelings, weaponizing those things."

The change has come with solid results. 

Casson, of Kingston, Ont., and Moffatt, from Bethany, Ont., clinched their spot in Paris with a fourth-place finish at last year's rowing worlds in Belgrade, Serbia. They went on to place fourth at World Cup 2 in Lucerne, Switzerland, in May. 

"They're older, they're stronger, they're fitter than they were in Tokyo. And they have more confidence about what they can do in the field," Ivey said in a video call from Italy, where the rowing team trained before heading to France for the Games. 

WATCH | Canada's women's 8 to defend Olympic title in Paris:

Canada sent 10 boats to Tokyo and came home with a pair of medals after capturing gold in women's eight and bronze in women's pair.

Four of the rowers from the championship-winning women's eight team are