In 2010 nobody had uttered the word “Brexit”, South Sudan was yet to be a country, and there was a genuine fear that the world would end in 2012.
In the rowing world, the last 10 years have marked an unprecedented shift in the way rowing is considered by the wider sporting community as rowing opened its doors to become a more inclusive, spectator-friendly sport.
Aside from these changes, however, there have been landmark races – both Junior and Senior – on the Rowing circuit, and as the decade draws to a close, we feel it’s the right time to reflect on some of the high-points of the last 10 years.
2010 – British World Championship Success
Photo: British Rowing
At the turn of the decade, British Rowing came into its own at the 2010 World Championships with four gold medals in Olympic class boats: The Lightweight Men’s Four, Lightweight Men’s Double, Women’s Double, and Women’s Quad, thus taking the overall medal tally to 9, placing GB second overall in the rankings.
This was the most successful World Championships for a British Team since FISA came into existence, and is still one the high points of British Rowing pre-2012. It highlighted not only the strength of traditional boats but also dominance in Lightweight Rowing, as well as Women’s Sculling.
2011 – German Dominance at the Junior World Championships
Photo: World Rowing
As finals day of the 2011 Junior World Championships dawned, it was clear that Germany’s crews were the ones to beat – but nobody could have anticipated the degree to which they parted opposition to land on the podium. The German’s medalled in 6 out of the 7 Sunday finals, topping the medal tables by a significant margin. Notable performances include Gold Medals for both the Women’s and Men’s Single Sculls, as well as a first place in the Women’s Eight and the Men’s Double.
The 2011 Junior Worlds were held at the Olympic Rowing venue for the 2012 Olympics: Eton Dorney. The German’s may have gathered from their astonishing success the year prior, that the Olympics would be a walk in the park… but it seemed the British had other thoughts.
2012 – British Women Assert Their Dominance on the World Stage
Photo: Team GB
They have been immortalised in the 2012 Hall of Fame as part of the British Team that delivered “Super Saturday” on the 4th of August 2012. But for the British Pair of Helen Glover and Heather Stanning, their victory was symbolic of far more than TV coverage would lead you to believe.
The Women’s Coxless Pair was added to the Olympic Rowing programme in 1976, and remarkably the Stanning-Glover combination was the first British crew to take gold in the event; even more remarkably the first British women to take gold in an Olympic Rowing event in modern history.
Their victory was of course followed by that of the Watkins-Granger composite in the women’s doubles scull, symbolising well-deserved triumph for Kathrine Granger who had returned from multiple setbacks to claim gold on home water. Similarly, the “Mighty Lighties” – Kat Copeland and Sophie Hosking – would take gold in the Lightweight Double, as their male colleagues in the Men’s Four edged out on Australia to continue their dynasty in one of the most tightly fought boat classes of modern racing.
In fact, half of the gold medals up for grabs in Women’s Rowing were claimed by British athletes, contributing to Britain’s most successful Olympics as a Nation since 1908.
2013 – Henley Royal Regatta’s Record-breaking Year
Photo: Taurus Boat Club
In a post-Olympic year, the minds of rowers and pundits alike are more firmly set on recent history, rather than the next Olympic cycle – 2013 was no exception – but perhaps that isn’t a bad thing. Riding high on a tidal wave of 2012 endorphins British Rowers won the Grand Challenge Cup in a record-breaking time, whilst the second British eight were the first crew in history to break the 6-minute mark over the 2,112 meters of the Regatta Course.
For Junior Rowers, for the first time in over 60 years, the Abingdon crew were the first to secure 3 successive victories in the Princess Elizabeth. Also in the junior sphere, we cannot move on from 2013 without mentioning Jess Leyden, who won gold at the 2013 Junior World Champs, making her the first female British athlete to win a global solo title in rowing, at any level.
2014 – South Africa Stuns at the World Championships
Photo: MyRowingPhoto.com
In a country famous for its picturesque waterways, the media of the world braced itself for one of the most anticipated finals of the 2014 World Champs: The Lightweight Men’s Double Final.
Out of the blocks, the French combination of Azou and Delayre took an early lead ahead of Norway and Italy who jostled for second and third, whilst the South Africans sat near the back of the pack. But with 500 metres to go, what seemed to be the status quo was about to be unsettled as the South Africans unleashed their sprinting potential to fly through the competition to the front of the field, where they remained until they crossed the line, leaving France with a Silver Medal.
Such a dramatic race in the wake of the lightweight purge that means the Lightweight Double is the only Lightweight Men’s Olympic class event.
2015 – Dark Blue Sweep in the First Combined Boat Race
Photo: The Express
The Boat Race has been a staple of the British sporting calendar for well over 100 years, and in 2015 the Boat Race was propelled into National headlines again, as for the first time female Blues would race the same course on the same day as their male counterparts.
April 11th was a wet and windy day that broke a continued spell of near-perfect conditions the preceding week, but that wasn’t to stop the Oxford crews. For the first minute of the Women’s race, the heavier Cambridge Crew were able to keep level with Oxford, after which each stroke by the Dark Blues seemed to hammer another nail into their opposition’s coffin, as they moved clear to a storming Oxford victory.
For the men, their race was to start less confidently, but – as the bookies predicted – soon enough Oxford began to mimic the Women’s race as President Stan Louloudis took his crew across the line to another spectacular win, making him the fourteenth Blue to win four or more Boat Races.
2016 – The Show Down of the Olympiad: Drysdale vs. Martin
Photo: World Rowing
Around the world, millions tuned in to watch the Olympics from Rio, Brazil, and many of those watching the Men’s 1x final were left a little confused as Martin and Drysdale crossed the line, in what quickly became apparent were identical times.
It seems we at home were not the only ones left a little dazed, as after the race Mahe Drysdale told the Telegraph ” I had no idea (if I’d won). I didn’t even look, I just knew I’d crossed the line.”
In the end, despite identical times, officials used the photo finish to determine that Drysdale had in fact been victorious by one 5,000th of a second, making it the closest official result in Rowing history.
This was, of course, subject too much scrutiny and subsequent outrage by some members of the sporting community, but with the IOC’s refusal to allow 2 gold medalists, the result remains unchallenged.
2017 – World Junior Championships: How the Mighty Fall
Photo: World Rowing
Last time we checked in with the Junior World Championships in 2011, Germany was clearly the Junior Team of the world, but a mere 6 years later, their dynasty has ended as they fall to fourth place in the medal tables.
They are not alone in their descent, with the United States being relegated to 5th place in 2017, and the Italians dropping from third to seventh overall.
This is despite strong individual crew performances that saw the US take gold in the Men’s Single, and Germany in the Men’s Eight. Great Britain, were on top form, however, taking gold in both the Women’s Double and Men’s Four. This pales in comparison to the true titans of the event: Romania, who took 2 gold, 2 silver, and 2 bronze medals making them the most successful Nation of the year.
2018 – St. Pauls Set the New Benchmark
Photo: St. Pauls School Rowing
Few – if any – crews since or before have been able to emulate the success of the St. Pauls crew in 2018. A win at Schools’ Head and a win at National Schools’ Regatta made them instant favourites for the Princess Elizabeth at Henley Royal, but few predicted the degree to which they performed.
However, on a sunny Sunday afternoon in Henley, crowds were treated to a race which demonstrated the talent of these young athletes as they went on to take the win, and in the process beating the previous record by 11 seconds.
This led to inevitable questions about the future of St. Pauls, would this be the start of a dynasty or simply a fluke? Questions that would be answered, but only after St. Pauls athletes bolstered the ranks of the British Crews at the Junior World in Raiče, where they contributed to another stunning British performance on the world stage.
2019 – The King’s Cup Returns to Henley
100 years after the Regatta that marked the end of the Great War, the original eight Nations of the 1919 Regatta sent modern-day military crews to Henley to compete in the Centenary Peace Regatta.
The entire Regatta was centred around the event and was a hit with the crowds who enjoyed the mix of heritage and drama that underpinned the event. By the time we reached finals day, only two crews remained: The US and Germany. After a ceremonial row past by the other Nations, the two Eights stormed out of the blocks, and for the first portion of the race, neither crew could be favoured by spectators. As the kilometres became metres, however, the US charged, and despite a counter-attack by the Germans through Steward’s, the Americans were victorious.
Looking Ahead…
The next Decade will be a busy one, with three Olympic Cycles, longer renditions of Henley Royal Regatta, large scale changes in the structure of our sport and countless other – perhaps as yet unexpected- changes. This means 2020-29 will be an exciting 10 years, and Junior Rowing News very much plans on reviewing the next Decade in 2029.
Until then, you can keep up on all our content on our website, Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.
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Ed Evans
Opinions Editor
Cover Photos: St Pauls School Rowing, Team GB, World Rowing.
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