How do you define greatness? A mind-bending feat that surpasses expectation and rationality? A moment of authentic surprise that inverts the weight of pressing odds? Or perhaps an incision in the linear unfurling of your heart?
In sport, we are quick to anoint greatness upon each other. A performance that impresses us is often bestowed the virtue of greatness before it can even truly be understood. It is easy to attach brilliance onto bravery and boldness but sometimes the two should not be conflated. True greatness should combine mastery, magnanimity and more than a hint of magic.
The Olympic Games is our ultimate magic show. A procession of truly elite talent, operating at the pinnacle of their sport and thrust forward into a limelight fostered by four years of relative translucency. These two weeks are stitched into the very fabric of competition, dating back to the lore of Ancient Greece, and have transcended the politics of modern society to become the ultimate marker in sporting excellence. To win Olympic Gold gives you immortality of a rare and timeless specification – your story will be perpetuated forevermore, carried forward by the whispers of generations to come, who too aim to climb those sacred steps and join this club of champions. Emerging over the horizon, this time in the blue and red hue of palatial Paris, we are ready for the very fastest in rowing to be crowned.
Step forward, my friends – The Olympic Games have come.
The Stats
Country
Great Britain
Crew Names
Sholto Carnegie
Rory Gibbs
Morgan Bolding
Jacob Dawson
Charlie Elwes
Tom Digby
Fames Rudkin
Tom Ford
Harry Brightmore (c)
Average Age
29 years
Olympic Record
Fourth in the M4- at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games (Carnegie, Gibbs)
Bronze in the M8+ at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games (Dawson, Elwes, Rudkin, Ford)
2024 Competitive Record
World Rowing Cup 1: 1st (M8+)
World Rowing Cup 2: 1st (M8+)
World Rowing Cup 3: N/A
European Championships: 1st (M8+)
The Profile
Great Britain have been the crew to beat throughout the Paris Olympiad, and so far only one crew has managed it (Australia at the Lucerne World Rowing Cup last season). The British bounced back from that surprise defeat by taking the world championship title. The British and Germans have had a semi-official rivalry ever since the start of the London Olympiad, where each crew wants to win the Olympics and all the world championships during that Olympic cycle. The Germans achieved that in London and GB in Rio. Now, with a shortened Olympic cycle, the British have a chance to do it again. They are a settled line-up with four of the crew having won bronze in the eight at the Tokyo Games. As mentioned, since finishing in bronze in Tokyo, the British have only been beaten once and they have two world championship titles and three European titles to their credit. They have been made to work for some of these victories – the Romanians pushed them hard at the Europeans last year, getting within 5/100th and then this season the Americans, fresh from winning the Final Olympic Qualifying Regatta, produced a strong final sprint to close within 2/10th. The British have always looked in control of their races though and will head into Paris as strong favourites.
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