FINAL OLYMPIC QUALIFYING REGATTA - PREVIEW

By Rupert Guinness who is travelling with the Australian Rowing Team in Europe

For most of the Australian Rowing Team (ART), the last phase of preparation for the Olympic Games began with their arrival in Europe this week for a three-month training and racing block. But for four ART crews, their journey is nearing the most crucial junction that will determine if they even get to represent Australia at the Games in Paris: that being, the Final Olympic Qualifying Regatta (FOQR) to be held at Lucerne, Switzerland from May 19-21.

The FOQR, also known as ‘the Regatta of Death’ because for most crews this last big roll of the dice to qualify their boat for the Olympics ends their Games dream, will be held on Lake Rotsee where World Cup II (May 24-26) will also be held for boats already qualified for Paris.

The ART has so far qualified in nine of the 14 boat classes for the Paris Olympics. But that number could increase, pending how the four Australian boats entered for the FOQR fare – the Men’s Quadruple Scull, Double Scull and Single Scull, and Women’s Lightweight Double Scull.

How do the crews of those four boats feel about the cut throat challenge they face?

We asked them …

Men’s Double Scull (M2x) – David Bartholot, Marcus Della Marta

To qualify for Olympics: Top two finish

David Bartholot: “Obviously I'm aware of what's at stake yet. But I don’t think it really changes too much the way I'm going to go about things in terms of what I do or have done in the past, or what I will do at this regatta. I will stick to my same pre-race routine; and I'll be trying to get everything out of myself as I do in every race. So, I'm not trying to think too much about what's at stake, but rather about the process of getting the best out of myself.”

Marcus Della Marta: “You only get one opportunity potentially go to the Olympics. I don't need to put any extra pressure on myself … there'll be enough on the start line. Looking around at the other people. They’ll be more nervous than us. A lot of other crews have got more to lose. They failed [to qualify] last year at world championships. They think they should be there. We're a new combination and no one knows what we are capable of.”

Women’s Lightweight Double Scull (LW2x) – Anneka Reardon, Georgia Miansarow

To qualify for Olympics: Top two finish

Anneka Reardon: “We recognize the pressure. But in a way, because it's been so difficult to get to this position it feels like obviously there's something to lose, but it's also like there's nothing to lose because we're just so lucky to actually be here and to be able to go to FOQR.

We are very grateful that we got the World Cup I experience (placed 4th). What we learned there put us in a much better position than I think if we would have been if hadn't done it.”

Georgia Miansarow: “Everything is a bonus. When I’m out in the middle of the day, I'm like, ‘Pinch me … ‘I’m not in an office, we are here. It's pretty cool. I will be nervous come FOQR, but I'm so buzzing to race. Obviously, there’s pressure wanting to qualify for the Olympics …

But World Cup 1, definitely gave us confidence going into the FOQR. Now we know that nothing is going to be a massive surprise, other than that there will be some red-hot racing.”

Men’s Quadruple Scull (M4x) – Caleb Antill, Jack Cleary, Campbell Watts, Alex Rossi

To qualify for Olympics: Top two finish

Caleb Antill: “I like the idea that it's so brutal and cut-throat … If you're good enough, you’re good enough. If you’re not, you're not. I'm sure it's quite glum around the ballpark [for those who miss out qualifying for the Olympics]. But that's high performance sport … it's brutal. People are going to be there, out for blood and throw everything at it. It's just about making sure we stick to our plan and throw everything at it as well, which we know we can.”

Jack Cleary: “We haven't come this far just to come this far. I'm confident that this crew has the makings to be up there with the best in the world. It's just about when we lay it out there, how well we execute, compared to how well do the other countries get the best out of themselves on that given day. Rowing would be very boring if everyone did 100 per cent of their capacity every time because you would know who’s going to win.”

Campbell Watts: “I’ve been thinking about it recently because it’s imminent. But it’s the people thinking about the results who are the people getting lost. I think about what it's like to pick the front end with Rossi, what it's like to send the rhythm back to Caleb and Jack, how enjoyable the boat is to row; what that physically feels like, what tangibly that feels like. I've done a lot of races and it hasn't helped me a lot to forecast what could happen.”

Alex Rossi: “We've come from different starting points. We knew we had the right pieces to the puzzle. We were given a chance to show that we did, but just needed a different timeframe. The combination has since clicked on and off the water. We are looking forward to hitting this regatta harder and better than [in World Cup I in Varese, 5th]. We were afforded the opportunity to prove it [to selectors]. We’re ready to prove it to the world now.”

Men’s Single Scull (M1x) – Oscar McGuinness

To qualify for Olympics: Top two finish

Oscar McGuinness: “I’m stoked to be racing in the heavyweight Single at FOQR. It’s not what I expected when I started the [2024 Olympic] cycle as a lightweight sculler. After a bit of self-reflection, I didn’t like our odds of qualifying in the lightweight double in this cycle; so, I knew I had to go up to heavyweight sculling this year. I’m heading into this regatta thinking I can pull off a great result. I’ve been watching Steven Bradbury clips for the past week!”

ART Day One Schedule (all times are AEST):

Men's Double Scull - 6:56pm

Men's Single Scull - 8:11pm

Lightweight Women's Double Scull - 8:23pm 

Men's Quadruple Scull - 8:59pm

Here is how to follow the event on mobile, tablet, or desktop:

1. The time table for the events can be found here, and entries for all the races are available here.
2. Live race tracker and LIVE audio will be available for ALL races on www.worldrowing.com.
3. LIVE video streaming will be available on the World Rowing website from 10:00 CET on May 21 for all the A-Final races. The video streaming will start 5 minutes before the first race, and will be commentated by RA CEO Sarah Cook with guest Gevvie Stone.