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
Heidi Long
Rowan Mckellar
Holly Dunford
Emily Ford
Lauren Irwin
Eve Stewart
Harriet Taylor
Annie Campbell-Orde
Henry Fieldman (c)
Average Age
29 years
Olympic Record
Fourth in the W4- at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games (McKellar, Taylor)
Seventh in the W8+ at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games (Ford)
Bronze in the M8+ at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games (Fieldman)
2024 Competitive Record
World Rowing Cup 1: 2nd (W8+)
World Rowing Cup 2: 2nd (W8+)
World Rowing Cup 3: N/A
European Championships: 2nd (W8+)
The Profile
Great Britain will probably be the first to admit that they have struggled to find a competitive eight since taking silver at the Rio Olympics. During the Tokyo Olympiad, their best result at the world championships was fifth in 2017. However, in the last couple of seasons, the British having been quietly putting together a crew that can regularly challenge for the podium. In 2023, they just missed out on a medal at the world championships, having won silver at the Europeans and taken medals (including a gold) at both the second and third World Rowing Cups. The crew includes four athletes with Olympic experience; McKellar and Taylor from the fourth-placed coxless four and Ford as the sole remaining member of the eight that finished last. Also in the boat is Henry Fieldman, who coxed the GB men’s eight to bronze in Tokyo. It’s worth noting that should GB win a medal in Paris, Fieldman will make history as the first athlete to win an Olympic medal in a men’s and women’s event. This season the British have shown impressive speed. They took silver at the opening World Rowing Cup behind the Italians, although that defeat was put down to the fact that they had doubled-up in the four earlier in the day. At the Europeans, they earned silver behind Romania, and then at the Lucerne World Rowing Cup, they won their third silver of the year just behind the Canadians. I think the British stand a really good chance of winning only their second-ever Olympic women’s eight medal, and although I’ve got them as bronze medallists the colour could well be something a little brighter.
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