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Shanghai race prep for Kiwi men’s four
Considering everything they've gone through over the past year, it will be an achievement in itself when the Kiwi men's coxless four line up at the World Champs in Shanghai at the end of September.
As recently as the end of July, it looked like the stern three of Flynn Watson, Zack Rumble and Campbell Crouch would miss out on the Worlds after crewmate Josh Vodanovich had to pull out on medical grounds.
The team then considered their options and approached Matt Dunham to fill the seat - who had himself missed out on going to World Championships a couple of years ago after his then doubles partner fell sick.
Fortunately, the stars aligned this time round. RNZ liked the idea, Matt performed well in the last-minute testing he had to go through, and the crew is now looking to put a year of up and downs behind them.
"We've had some uneven regattas over the last little while," says stroke Flynn Watson, "but the boat is feeling good and we basically can't wait to start racing."
"It's definitely been a long year and a bit of training - the longest, most sustained training phase I've done so far in my career - but the end is in sight now.
"It's pretty exciting, putting the finishing touches on our preparations - starting to ease off the training volume and looking to finetune our starts and things like that."
Men's Four stroke Flynn watson after racing at world Cup - Varese
As well as the typical training the crew would do for any regatta, Flynn says the expected Shanghai weather has required some additional preparations.
"We're expecting temperatures in the high 20s - possibly low 30s - and there will probably be a fair bit of humidity as well. So we've been trying to get used to that by doing our usual training and then sitting in a hot tub afterwards for around 45 mins.
"It's not great - you're pretty knackered anyway and then the extra heat makes you feel a bit lightheaded as well.
"But one thing that sets New Zealand rowing apart from other nations is its preparation and all the little details our team thinks about around the races themselves. We've got some of the best preparation and training going, so if the trainers say it's going to help, it's going to help."
With it being the start of a new Olympic cycle, it's hard to predict who will be the main contenders for the medals. A number of big names will be taking some time off after their training for Paris last year, which makes the field unpredictable. Although Flynn says the usual suspects will be out in force.
"I'm not too sure which rowers specifically will be in and out of the boats, but you can expect GB, Australia, the Dutch to all field pretty fast crews. We're rowed against a few of these guys before so they're not completely unknown but you never really know who's going to be the team to beat in the post-Olympic year.
"We've also got the uncertainty of the mixed eights - which will be the first time I've rowed a mixed eight since I was a lot younger. It's a new boat class introduced for LA and will be pretty novel to all the nations, so who knows how that will go.
"The four has been the focus for the last year or so, and we're due to start our mixed eight training next week. So it'll be a nice change if nothing else!"
Currently the men's four is racking up between 20 and 30 hours of training a week, and recovery is pretty important. But that's not to say they don't find time for the occasional social outing as well.
Flynn is about to finish an undergraduate degree in finance and wants to get into start-up investing when he hangs up his oars. To get some career advice, he got in touch with a friend of a friend, Rees Ward, who works in that field and who also happens to be a member of Auckland Rowing Club's illustrious Michelin Men.
After discussing careers for a while, Flynn and Rees discovered a shared love of rowing, and Rees suggested Flynn bring his crewmates down to the club for a row and breakfast.
The Michelin Men are a squad of talented, highly experienced rowers - and, as the name suggests, a squad that takes their breakfast (indeed all meals) seriously.
"It was actually really good fun. They're a great bunch of guys, and it was a good laugh."
"But now it's heads down for the final push for Shanghai. We've given a hell of a lot over the past year and this is the time to make it count."
Andrew Smith
Andrew Smith is a keen Masters rower based in Wellington. A member of Wellington Rowing Club off and on since 2000, he spends more time on the erg than the water, trying to convince himself he's still young.
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- Home
- /
- International Regattas
- /
- Shanghai race prep...
Shanghai race prep for Kiwi men’s four
Considering everything they've gone through over the past year, it will be an achievement in itself when the Kiwi men's coxless four line up at the World Champs in Shanghai at the end of September.
As recently as the end of July, it looked like the stern three of Flynn Watson, Zack Rumble and Campbell Crouch would miss out on the Worlds after crewmate Josh Vodanovich had to pull out on medical grounds.
The team then considered their options and approached Matt Dunham to fill the seat - who had himself missed out on going to World Championships a couple of years ago after his then doubles partner fell sick.
Fortunately, the stars aligned this time round. RNZ liked the idea, Matt performed well in the last-minute testing he had to go through, and the crew is now looking to put a year of up and downs behind them.
"We've had some uneven regattas over the last little while," says stroke Flynn Watson, "but the boat is feeling good and we basically can't wait to start racing."
"It's definitely been a long year and a bit of training - the longest, most sustained training phase I've done so far in my career - but the end is in sight now.
"It's pretty exciting, putting the finishing touches on our preparations - starting to ease off the training volume and looking to finetune our starts and things like that."
Men's Four stroke Flynn watson after racing at world Cup - Varese
As well as the typical training the crew would do for any regatta, Flynn says the expected Shanghai weather has required some additional preparations.
"We're expecting temperatures in the high 20s - possibly low 30s - and there will probably be a fair bit of humidity as well. So we've been trying to get used to that by doing our usual training and then sitting in a hot tub afterwards for around 45 mins.
"It's not great - you're pretty knackered anyway and then the extra heat makes you feel a bit lightheaded as well.
"But one thing that sets New Zealand rowing apart from other nations is its preparation and all the little details our team thinks about around the races themselves. We've got some of the best preparation and training going, so if the trainers say it's going to help, it's going to help."
With it being the start of a new Olympic cycle, it's hard to predict who will be the main contenders for the medals. A number of big names will be taking some time off after their training for Paris last year, which makes the field unpredictable. Although Flynn says the usual suspects will be out in force.
"I'm not too sure which rowers specifically will be in and out of the boats, but you can expect GB, Australia, the Dutch to all field pretty fast crews. We're rowed against a few of these guys before so they're not completely unknown but you never really know who's going to be the team to beat in the post-Olympic year.
"We've also got the uncertainty of the mixed eights - which will be the first time I've rowed a mixed eight since I was a lot younger. It's a new boat class introduced for LA and will be pretty novel to all the nations, so who knows how that will go.
"The four has been the focus for the last year or so, and we're due to start our mixed eight training next week. So it'll be a nice change if nothing else!"
Currently the men's four is racking up between 20 and 30 hours of training a week, and recovery is pretty important. But that's not to say they don't find time for the occasional social outing as well.
Flynn is about to finish an undergraduate degree in finance and wants to get into start-up investing when he hangs up his oars. To get some career advice, he got in touch with a friend of a friend, Rees Ward, who works in that field and who also happens to be a member of Auckland Rowing Club's illustrious Michelin Men.
After discussing careers for a while, Flynn and Rees discovered a shared love of rowing, and Rees suggested Flynn bring his crewmates down to the club for a row and breakfast.
The Michelin Men are a squad of talented, highly experienced rowers - and, as the name suggests, a squad that takes their breakfast (indeed all meals) seriously.
"It was actually really good fun. They're a great bunch of guys, and it was a good laugh."
"But now it's heads down for the final push for Shanghai. We've given a hell of a lot over the past year and this is the time to make it count."
Andrew Smith
Andrew Smith is a keen Masters rower based in Wellington. A member of Wellington Rowing Club off and on since 2000, he spends more time on the erg than the water, trying to convince himself he's still young.
