With a heritage that includes Olympic gold medallists, Matthew Pinsent and Ed Coode, a lot is expected of current Etonians on the river. That history, coupled with the world class facility that is Dorney Lake, has combined to make the Eton Boat Club a formidable force.
The First VIII went into this year on the back of three consecutive triple crowns, after winning the National Schools competition, the Schools’ Head and Henley. This year’s ‘loss’ (coming second) at the Schools’ Head, marked Captain of Boats, Ed Nainby-Luxmoore’s first ever experience of not winning as part of an Eton crew. After three years in the number one crew, this is quite an achievement.
They have since managed to pick themselves up and the tightly bonded squad recently gathered round the TV to watch last year’s Captain of Boats, Constantine Louloudis, row Oxford to victory in the manner that many of Eton’s oarsmen hope to do in the future. Here lies the key to the athletes’ dominance in their field – the committed young men juggle a training regime that many semi-professionals would baulk at, with full time studies that regularly take them to top universities in the UK and USA.
Nick Abel Smith spoke to Ed Nainby-Luxmoore, the winner of two silver medals at the junior world championships, about why Eton prouce so many great rowers, how he sees his career in the coming years, and what words of encouragement he’d give any aspiring rower.
Nick Abel Smith: Why do you think Eton College is so successful on the water?
Ed Nainby-Luxmoore: For the past few years there’s been a really good squad coming through, and if you look at previous years there’s always been a cycle, with good teams. There’s an atmosphere of winning here that is self-perpetuating, it’s a great place to be after a victory and it really spurs everyone on.
NAS: But how much do you think that’s because of the facilities?
EN-L: Obviously they help massively, training on an Olympic facility, the best in the country right on your doorstep and then training on the lake that you often race on too. But obviously there are other aspects – you’ve got to have the squad, the crew, and the coaches. There’s no point having a magnificent lake if you haven’t got the squad to go with it!
NAS: Exactly, so what are your aims for the next few years?
EN-L: As an VIII [Eton], we want to bounce back from the Schools’ Head loss and win at the National Schools and Henley. From a personal perspective, hopefully I’ll get into the Under 23 Great Britain squad and then go to University in Washington [Ed has got a 100% scholarship] and get in their rowing team out there and win.
NAS: Quite an achievement for an 18 year-old! So what would you say to young, budding rowers?
EN-L: Stick with it! Someone’s got to win, someone’s got to lose. Try and make sure you’re on the winning side more often, but when you do lose, make sure you come back stronger. The work’s worth it; you should remember every defeat so that when you do win, it makes it all the more valuable. If you never lose, you never really experience winning because you don’t know what it feels like to lose.
NAS: What are the worst and best facets to rowing?
EN-L: The worst bits are the long hours out at the lake, doing a lot of training when you could be having the day off. The most enjoyable part is when you’re doing it with a good bunch of people it’s a lot of fun and you do make a lot of friends.
NAS: What about looking good? Is that a by-product or a major factor?
EN-L: (Laughs) It’s a by-product – I don’t know many rowers who do it to get a good body!
NAS: Thanks Ed.
It’s clear to see that the winning spirit is alive and well in Ed, and he has a fire that looks set to drive him onto bigger and greater things. Although when he moves on, he leaves behind an abundant stock of younger rowers that are eager to fulfil the Olympic legacy of Dorney Lake.
