Rowing: The crews in our dream boats

By DAVID LEGGAT

When George Bridgewater talks, you tend to sit close in.

This 21-year-old is softly spoken when he's off the water.

On the water it's a different story. The powerful Wellingtonian is half of a coxless pair, with Auckland's Nathan Twaddle, who have been roaring along during the New Zealand team's pre-Olympic European campaign.

They have, by general consent, made the greatest strides of any of New Zealand's Olympic crews.

Considering they are a first-year combination, the times they have posted and the promise they offer have brought smiles to the faces of some tough taskmasters in the New Zealand coaching department.

"It's hard for a first-year combination, especially going into the biggest regatta," head coach Dick Tonks said. "Lots of pairs can take three to four years to get going.

"They've made big strides. Almost daily they look better and their times in training are good."

Bridgewater, who sits in the stroke seat in front of Twaddle, isn't one to wax lyrical on the hows and whys in their improvement.

He puts it down to a lot of little elements going into producing the right mix.

"We've definite picked up a lot over the last two months since we've been overseas," he said.

"Even in New Zealand we were improving every week. Coming overseas has been an extra step up.

"And if you get up in the morning and are really looking forward to a training session, to me that's a sign you're enjoying it and probably going quite well."

Bridgewater began rowing in 1999 but wasted little time putting his hand up as an oarsman of uncommon quality. Tonks can see "huge potential in the years to come".

This year Bridgewater won three titles at the national championships and has taken at least one red coat (championship titles) at each of the last three nationals.

As for objectives or specific goals in Athens, Bridgewater says the pair haven't sat down and talked it through.

"But I guess it's unspoken between Nathan and myself that we obviously want to do pretty well.

"First things first we've got to make the final, and that starts with the heats."

They have seen most of the other crews at the Games regatta. There is some real class in the field. A daunting prospect ahead?

"I wouldn't say daunting. We've got a lot of respect for certain crews, but I think we can compete with any of them."

You back yourself then? "You have to."

Twaddle is respected as a model trainer and a good presence to have around a squad with young rowers short on serious overseas experience.

He qualified the boat for Athens by finishing seventh at last year's world championships in Milan, partnered by Rob Hellstrom. Since then, Bridgewater has jumped ahead of the older Hellstrom.

But Twaddle is big on the history of New Zealand rowing, and sees no reason the tradition which has brought the country 12 Olympic medals cannot be maintained.

"The approach has been to make other people scared when they see the black singlet in their race. So they think 'Bugger, we're racing the Kiwis'," he said.

The coxless pair's coach, Blenheim's John Robinson, reckons they "probably won't get any better than we are at the moment".

So the timing is right. Now it comes down to keeping their heads.

"They both listen, both want to achieve. They don't think they're better than they have been," he said.

"We know making the final will be hard. All those boats out there are very close but they've shown enough boat speed to do it.

"If they put it together, other people will know they're there."

Tomorrow, all five NZ crews hit the water at the Schinias course, about 40km from central Athens.

"An awesome facility," enthuses Bridgewater.

Much has been made of the winds leading up to the regatta. It's known to blow, which gets rowers jittery.

Bridgewater reckoned they hadn't seen much yet but doesn't sound especially fazed at the prospect of life getting difficult on the water.

The object of the exercise tomorrow is to push on towards finals spots.

With the exception of the Evers-Swindells, a clutch of finalists will be regarded as satisfying.

If there is to be something better than that, it's a fair bet Twaddle and Bridgewater might be the most likely to succeed.

Single sculler Sonia Waddell is first off tomorrow, followed by coxless pair Nicky Coles and Juliette Haigh, Twaddle and Bridgewater, and the Evers-Swindells. The men's coxless four of Donald Leach, Mahe Drysdale, Eric Murray and Carl Meyer complete the session.

Repechages are on Monday, semifinals on Wednesday and the finals are set down for Saturday, August 21. If you like omens, that just happens to be Twaddle's 28th birthday.

ROWING

August 14, from 5.30pm (NZ time): All NZ crews in heats at Schinias

Women's single sculls (Sonia Waddell)

Women's coxless pair (Juliette Haigh, Nicky Coles)

Men's coxless pair (George Bridgewater, Nathan Twaddle)

Women's double sculls (Georgina and Caroline Evers-Swindell)

Men's coxless four (Carl Meyer, Eric Murray, Mahe Drysdale, Don Leach)