IT HAS been 20 years since Britain hosted the World Championships and when the 1,100 athletes from 64 countries return to top-class competition here this week, they should notice the change in the rowing landscape — and it has nothing to do with the tree-lined banks of the Olympic course at Dorney Lake, Eton.
The previous championships in Nottingham in 1986 were such a long time ago that Steve Redgrave was in his twenties and only had one gold medal. His team-mates were all amateurs, squashing their training regime around studies, work and families, trying to break the consistent problem of British sport. If you didn’t win you couldn’t make any money and if you didn’t make any money, you couldn’t afford to train enough to win.
The sport was amateur from top to bottom, surviving on Sports Council grants that didn’t stretch very far when divided between the infrastructure, equipment and costs of the team. No one questioned it — there wasn’t an alternative.
The opposition in Nottingham had differing systems and ideas to solve the situation. The Americans supplied their team with dozens of Ivy Leaguers who could race for their universities and their country at the same time. The Russians had huge numbers of army officers in their ranks who were paid a military salary. The Eastern Bloc countries followed suit and there were more card-carrying police personnel from around Europe on the teams than at any football match.
Redgrave and his partner, Andy Holmes, won one of two gold medals by bucking the British system. They trained with a full-time coach and, with the tacit understanding of the ARA, found a sponsor. It wasn’t big money. Indeed, at one point, Steve took delivery of a washing machine from them instead of a month’s money because it was hard to pay tax on a washing machine.
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The team that takes to the water this week is, in its genesis, nothing to do with Redgrave. The greatest champion the sport ever had retired in 2000, yet there were many of us (myself included) who were directly influenced by him. This team is not. There is no one left who rowed with him in competition and only a handful who watched him up close. Yet the system that exists today is in part down to him.
Redgrave took to the water with an attitude that no one had the right to beat him. He trained all day, every day and sacrificed everything in the pursuit of gold medals. Today these are just the thin end of the mental wedge that runs through the team. His attributes were seen then as one in a million — now they are just a starter for ten.
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The rowing team now is more than professional, it is cutting edge. It has more than a dozen full-time coaches and more than 20 full-time support staff from logistics to medical, psychology to diet; all to hone the blade with which to carve out results. The British team used to look at other nations with jealousy about their structure, sponsors and medals — now it is the other teams that look at Great Britain.
This week is the most public test of the post-Redgrave era and the reality is that the team are getting better and better. In 1986, there were only a handful of events in which Britain had a chance of a medal. This week there are only a handful of the 27 events in which we don’t.
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The British team have never finished top of the medal table at a World Championships and there is a real chance that we can this week. In order to achieve it, the lead boats need to win gold just as everyone knows they can.
The men’s coxless four were dominant last season and have carried on the winning habit throughout this one. But they, more than any other boat, are under the mental cosh this week. Nothing is harder in sport than knowing you should win. They have the power, they have the technique, they have beaten their opposition on every occasion. They have come through many tests so far, but none harder than this.
In order to top the table, Britain need many more medals. The new women’s double scull, Alan Campbell in the men’s single and half a dozen other boats need to turn what used to be creditable top six into a celebratory trip to the podium.
Rowing is one of the few sports that Britain is genuinely good at. For two decades, it has collected headlines and respect. But in a summer where there has been precious little to cheer for British sport, there is a genuine chance to grab more than headlines.
GROUP A: women’s fours, men’s coxed pairs, women’s lightweight sculls, men’s lightweight sculls, men’s lightweight eights, women’s sculls, men’s sculls, women’s pairs, men’s pairs, women’s doubles, men’s doubles, men’s fours.
Provisional timetable:
Tomorrow: Heats: 9.30am-1 .30pm.
Tuesday: Repechages: 9.30am-12.30pm.
Thursday: Semi-finals: 9.40am-2.20pm.
Saturday: Finals: 9.30am-3.10pm.
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GROUP B: men’s coxed fours, men’s lightweight pairs, women’s lightweight quads, men’s lightweight quads, women’s lightweight doubles, men’s lightweight doubles, men’s lightweight fours, women’s quads, men’s quads, women’s eights, men’s eights.
Provisional timetable:
Monday: Heats: 9.30am-12.20pm.
Wednesday: Repechages: 9.30am-11.40am.
Friday: Semi-finals: 9.30am-1pm.
Sunday: Finals: 9.30am-3.15pm.
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ADAPTIVE: women’s and men’s singles, double sculls, coxed four:
Friday: heats:
Saturday 26: repechages.
Sunday 27: finals.