Two big announcements from four of the best rowers in their specific boat classes have added a bit of intrigue to end a huge Olympic year. Croatia's Martin and Valent Sinkovic played out the first act Nov. 15th with a simple tweet of their sculling oars sitting on a dock with the promise that were going to follow their gold medal in the men's double with a "decision about the future of our professional career."

Before the speculation got too crazy, the next day they posted a second tweet with a picture of a set of sweep oars on the same dock and the announcement that they were going to switch to the pair.

Maybe all of that winning got old? It was certainly an elegant way to make an announcement.

But the announcement took on added intrigue when New Zealand's dominant pair, Hamish Bond and Eric Murray, aka "The Kiwi Pair," announced that 2017 would be a year off. Murray will be recovering from knee surgery and is promising a run for the Tokyo Games. In the meantime, Bond has taken up cycling and has already stated competition, finishing in the top 10 at the 2016 Tour of Southland recently.

So far, Bond and Murray have recorded 69 consecutive wins in the pair that included two Olympic championships and two World Best Times. Talk about having to follow in very large footprints. Stay tuned for Sarasota and the 2017 World Rowing Championships!