Rowing: Big year ahead for Taylor and Cohen

Men's lightweight elite double, Hayden Cohen (L) and Pete Taylor (R). Media day at the Rowing High Performance Centre at Lake Karapiro. Photo / Christine Cornege.

Other crews might argue it, but there is a good case that lightweight scullers Peter Taylor and Hayden Cohen have the stiffest challenge among New Zealand's elite rowers this year.

Taylor is an old hand on the international stage, a world champion in 2009 and Olympic bronze medallist three years later, both with Storm Uru, and a multiple podium finisher in both the light double and four.

This year he's partnering Hayden Cohen in the light double scull, the younger brother of Nathan who with Joseph Sullivan won a spectacular Olympic gold in London.

What makes this challenge intriguing is that where Uru and Taylor were similar in stature, Cohen is shorter and a reworked heavyweight rower.

Cohen was in the elite quad scull two years ago but over the past summer decided to drop his weight and put his best foot forward as a lightweight sculler. Not an easy thing to do, and Taylor admitted getting the balance right between their physiques is a work in progress.

"We've got a bloody big challenge ahead of us," he said. "Storm and I didn't have to overcome big issues of coming into sync and had a few years to build into each other's strokes.

"Hayden is a bit shorter than me, a bit more powerful, that's providing a few challenges but we're attacking it with everything we've got to find the rhythm that'll make us go faster at the world champs."

That will be in Aiguebelette, France starting at the end of August, and is this year's Rio Olympic qualifying regatta.

Before that there are two World Cup regattas, in Varese, Italy in the middle of next month, and Lucerne in July, to fine tune, and get a gauge on how they're travelling against international opposition.

Varese will be 23-year-old Cohen's first regatta as a lightweight.

So is he similar in personality to brother Nathan?

"They're pretty stubborn people, eh," Taylor laughed.

"He's a pretty aggressive guy, he just wants to get on with the work, push hard and go for it. They are similar in mindset. He just does not give up."

Taylor, who is in the stroke seat, spent the last two years in the lightweight four, which produced two silver medals at the last two world champs. He cherishes the medal from last year's final in Amsterdam, when injury to James Lassche forced a late change during finals week.

"That was really a great accomplishment with James being injured. It was really special to walk away with something for all the hard work we'd put into it."

Taylor, 31, admits he was disappointed to miss a seat in this year's four. He enjoyed his time in the larger boat, and sweep oar rowing rather than sculling, but now there's a fresh assignment and it's back in familiar territory where he's had considerable success.

"You want to be in the boat with the highest probability of winning an Olympic medal. I enjoy both crews and I'm pretty fortunate I can do both disciplines pretty well.

"We're trying to put ourselves in the best possible position when it comes to qualifying. I believe if we do everything as well as we can in the next few months, we will be able to set foot on the podium. It's about how well we can come together."