JRN (Junior Rowing News) is thrilled to announce the addition of three new columnists ahead of the 2024 Paris Olympic Games.
Tokyo Olympic gold medalist Grace Prendergast, Olympic silver medalist Zoe De Toledo and legendary coach Noel Donaldson will be providing unrivalled and exclusive insight up to and during the Olympic rowing regatta.
De Toledo steered Great Britain to an unforgettable silver medal at the Rio Olympics in 2016. Earlier that year, she was a part of a GB’s women’s eight that were crowned European champions. The University of Oxford graduate and Boat Race cox has also raced at the U23 and junior world championships, winning a gold and bronze medal respectively.
Donaldson is the mastermind behind Australia’s ‘Oarsome Foursome’ which dominated the 1990s, winning two gold medals and one silver in fours and pairs combinations. Under Donaldson, Australia won gold in the men’s coxless four at both the 1992 and 1996 Olympics. The Sport Australia Hall of Fame inductee has also spent time in New Zealand as head coach of the men’s sweep crews where he coached Eric Murray and Hamish Bond during their reign in the coxless pair.
Prendergast won a gold medal in the women’s pair at the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games alongside a silver in the women’s eight. She is a five-times world champion in the pair and was the highest ranked female rower in the world twice in a row in 2019 and 2021. She also won the Boat Race with Cambridge in 2022 in a record time.
Looking ahead to to a blockbuster summer of coverage, JRN managing director Tom Morgan said: “We’re so excited for what promises to be a captivating summer of sport and the addition of three experts in their respective fields will take JRN coverage to a whole new level. We have ambitions to be the largest provider of rowing-related content throughout this Olympic sequence and Grace, Zoe and Noel will support us in achieving that.”
As excitement builds towards the Olympic rowing regatta, De Toledo will be taking readers on the road to the Games, sharing her own insight as to what athletes will be experiencing as the sporting world gets ready to congregate in Paris.
Donaldson will be analysing the performances in the heats and repechages right the way through to the Olympic rowing finals, giving you an unmatched understanding of every rowing category.
Prendergast will be discussing her personal journey to Olympic gold, re-living four key moments including the final in Tokyo and how they were critical to her pathway to the summit of international rowing.
Rowing almanac, Dan Spring, will spearhead the previews of the Olympic and Paralympic regattas. These will include gold, silver, and bronze medal profiles for every event, along with summaries of ‘the best of the rest’ across all the boat classes.
JRN’s written work will be bolstered by daily editions of The End of The Island podcast. Join Fergus Mainland as he breaks down each day from Vaires-sur-Marne Nautical Stadium along with Tom Morgan, Ed Evans and a star studded international roster to be announced at a later date.
Readers can also look forward to Olympic and Paralympic interviews and articles, and opinion pieces spanning the rowing world as JRN gears up for its largest summer ever.
2024 has been an historic year so far, with record-breaking audiences every month since January off the back of a record year in 2023. JRN’s coverage of the international season is already in full swing, having covered World Cup I and the European Championships. Our previews for the Final Olympic Qualification Regatta and World Cup II are being rolled out globally as crews descend on the lake of the gods in Lucerne.
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