Diary Extracts

The World Championships were held in Cologne during the second week of September. With the weather we experienced, it felt more like February and having come from a warm weather camp in Italy my shades were replaced by a woolly hat. The racing, I'm pleased to say, was better than the weather. We progressed very comfortably through the heat, qualifying directly for the semi-final. In the semi we had an excellent row winning relatively easily. Although we won the final, we did not show the same dominance that we had exhibited during the week, so by our standards we had a poor race. Our aim during preparation is that our worst row should still be good enough to win. This wasn't our worst row, but it certainly won't be going down as a classic.

October: Back to training with Mickey Mouse

Following a massive three week break from training, it all started again for what is a relatively short season as the world Championships are in August this year rather than September. After four days training, 12 of the men's heavyweight team flew out on a training camp to the Disney Life World of Sports complex in Orlando, Florida. For this camp bikes rather than boats were used. Jurgen, our coach, decided that we could cycle for longer than we could row, so it must be better training. After the first cycle ride, however, when the novelty had worn off, two thoughts occurred to me: I didn't fancy following Matthew Pinsent's arse for four hours, and I was going to get through a lot of Vaseline. This two week training camp was a great way to kick off the new season with the excellent facilities available at the Disney complex and the gorgeous weather that we had. The only downside was that I didn't get to see Mickey Mouse.

November: Tim's back injury

During training for a domestic race (the fours' Head of the River), Tim had to stop rowing as his back was stiff. After failing to clear up with a few days rest, Tim went to have a scan. This showed the problem to be a bulging disc which meant he would have to take time out of the boat.

December: Tim's back operation

A week before Christmas Tim's back was thought not to be healing on its own and he underwent surgery to remove his bulging disc. This was a painful operation that would take at least six weeks to recover from and then another three months before full fitness could be regained. We knew Tim had the sort of character to recover from a severe operation like this, but it meant he had only a slim chance of being fit for our first race at the end of May.

December: My first trip to Australia

Arriving at Heathrow bound for Sydney, I was looking forward to visiting a country that I had never been to, but also dreading the 24 hours I was going to have to spend in cramped economy seats. Seven movies later we landed in Sydney (I had the satisfaction of knowing that I had saved myself £35 in cinema tickets by watching all the films on offer.) The camp was split into two parts. Part one was a few days in Sydney looking around the Olympic sites, culminating in a trip out to the rowing course. Part two was a three-week traiining camp on the Gold Coast near Surfers Paradise where the BOA (British Olympic Association) have set training venues for various Olympic sports. Looking at the course was a strange experience. I could now see the place where the most important day of my life would be spent. I have thought about the races we will have there often enough, but to be able to actually picture the venue adds an extra touch of realism. The only negative about the experience was that Tim had to stay at home as he was unable to travel because of this back. The facilities on the Gold Coast were mixed. The locals had constructed a great course on a reservoir that was exclusively ours to use, and we were using the local rugby club's gym. Things were fine until the club got shut down while we were over there. Training went well for the three of us out there but the news from home about Tim's back was not good.

January: Looking for a replacement

The replacement did not take much choosing as there was only one viable option: Ed Coode. Ed, who rowed for Oxford in the 1998 Boat Race, had performed way above anybody else (apart from the three fit members of the coxless four) and he therefore moved into our training group at the beginning of January.

January/February: Training at the Sierra Nevada ski resort

Great! At last a training camp where we can have some fun - train in the morning and go skiing in the afternoon! No such luck. We got to see people skiing while we were training on the rowing machines and doing weights. We were given the option of going skiing every fourth day when we had a half day, but the training was so tough on those days it was an achievement to be able to crawl back to your be and manage to wake up in time for dinner. Hard as this camp was, the three weeks of hard land training gave us excellent base fitness as we moved back into boats for pre-season boat work.

After flying into Malaga on our way to a winter work-out, we travelled up to the Sierra Nevada Mountains, the closest town being Granada. Our destination was Spain's Centre of altitude training. It was built before the Barcelona Olympics to prepare the home athletes, with a plan to open it athletes around the world as a commercial venture. Jan Zelezny, the Czech Olympic javelin champion and Alex Popov, the Russian 50 and 100 metres Olympic swimming champion are both regular visitors.

At 2,352m, it is above the 2000m mark, which brings an increase in the content of haemoglobin, the oxygen-carrying molecule in the blood. Going to altitude earlier in a season provides greater benefit the second time, which for us will be six weeks before the World Championships.

As we drove above the tree line and up past the ski resort, I saw the centre, looking like a James Bond villain's hideout, a massive aluminium leisure centre on top of the mountain. Environmentally friendly it isn't. the facilities are excellent with an indoor track, a pole vault pit (we quickly discovered there are no budding Sergei Bubka's among us), a 50-metre swimming pool, a gym, basketball, football and volleyball courts and, unfortunately, rowing machines.

Doing an 'ergo' at altitude with less oxygen, and watching people ski below makes you think that you might be in the wrong sport. Apart from ergos our training has included weights circuits and football. The tactic of mindless enthusiasm does not seem to work at altitude. After five minutes of the first game there were a lot of volunteers for goal.

We have only been here for four days but we already know how Jack Nicholson felt in The Shining, trapped in a building up a mountain. To make it worse we have no television and are having to make our own entertainment. In fact, we already have some runaway leaders in the beard growing contest and have had some unusual entries in the snow-sculpting competition.

It is clear that the two weeks we are going to spend here will involve high-quality training with so many good facilities under one roof. Something that will hopefully happen soon in Britain.

Being without Tim here and throughout the winter due to his back injury has been difficult both for our training and for me personally. I share with Tim when we go away and it has been strange not having him around, his approach to training and to life on a camp certainly helps me through them. During the time Tim has missed it has been frustrating being unable to help him. I wish I could do his training for him (so does he probably). But only he can do that.

The four as a boat has to move on, our opposition are not going to wait until Tim gets better so we can't either. At present Ed Coode is in the four. Ed's impressive performances through the winter identified him as the one to move forward with. Competition to be in four has always been fierce and hopefully the situation we are now in will ultimately raise us onto a higher level.

February/March: Seville, the first rowing training camp

Having just got round to washing my kit from Sierra Nevada, it was time to go away again, this time to Seville where the temperature was expected to be hot enough to justify taking shades and shorts. This was more like it! When we arrived, the Spanish told us the weather had been really nice the week before and could not understand why it was raining all the time. Luckily my shorts and t-shirts were keeping me nice and warm! During this camp we raced in the FISA Team Cup, a 500 and 1000m sprint.This was the four's first race of the year. We had only a few days in the boat with Ed before racing and we were facing strong competition from the Danish four who are the Olympic lightweight champions and gave us a good race at Henley last summer. Everything clicked into place and we had a couple of good races, dominating both. This was the first time we had won without Tim and it gave us a lot of confidence in preparation for the first World Cup regatta in Belgium at the end of May. Our next race is in Vienna on 18 - 21 June. We found out today that we will be racing with Ed as Tim is still not 100% fit. The decision as to who will be in the boat for Henley will be decided after Vienna. It's great to have two such good athletes fighting over one seat. Roll on Vienna

March / April:

We arrived at Heathrow on March 10th following a 2-week camp in Seville back in England for 3 months. This is the longest we will be at home from now until the Olympics in September 2000. Luckily British 'summer' time is now upon us. We have been fortunate to miss the worst of the winter with camps in Australia and Spain. The weather now is not a problem but we are busy preparing for our annual battles with both fishermen and cruiser drivers. Imagine the England Football Team training at Bisham Abbey with people walking their dogs over the pitch as Beckham is lining up a practice free kick. A 2000m course around the Thames Valley can't come soon enough! Domestically March and April are busy months for us. Having just done the Eight's Head where my congratulations go to QT who rowed a fine race. As their eight contained the majority of the National Eight hopefully this will be the start of a successful season for them. It was hard though having to row a pair with Ed (Coode) the day after. I spent the whole outing trying to pull him up the bank to show that we (Leander) were really the better crew. Needless to say that outing won't be going down as a classic. A week after the Head is everybody's favourite, a 2000m ergo test. Jurgen tries to convince us that as it lasts less than 6 minutes it is an easy day. I had a cold and had to miss the test. Standing outside in only my boxers the day before obviously paid off. Unfortunately I have to do it after the pairs trials instead. The April pairs assessment means that we get to spend 5 days in Nottingham. Only 4 days if the weather is good, so we are expecting to be there at least 5. In the past it has been held at Hazelwinkle in Belgium. The management decided that we could get as much rain in Nottingham without so much travel so it's held there now. Pairs trials is run as a regatta which is great fun as since the World Championships the only races in which we have competed are the Four's and Eight's Head and the European Team Cup. It is also the only chance you get to race side by side against the rest of the squad. This makes for a pressurised atmosphere and ideal race rehearsal. Especially as your result effects which crew you end up in for the season. Splitting down into pairs provides some excellent training for the four. Side by side steady state becomes a competition of who can go the fastest without looking tired whilst giving calls about how easily your pair is moving. As Steve and Matt race together the trials become an opportunity to race the fastest and most successful pair of all time. Last year they did not race as Matt had a fractured rib which took a lot of the shine off Tim and my victory. This year I will race with Ed as Tim is still recovering. As only 2 pairs have beaten a fully fit Steve and Matt over the last 9 years to beat them would be a big achievement as big if not bigger than winning the World Championships. Ed and I would then be in more exclusive company than winning a World Championship places you. To do this will require a tremendous performance as their competitive streak and ability to raise their game is enormous. There is a bigger prize than victory alone. It is an unwritten rule that the winner of the pairs trials gets the best room at the summer altitude camp in Austria. This is a valued prize as it contains single beds. As nice as Tim is 3 weeks in a double bed does your relationship few favours.

April/May: Preparation for Hazewinkel, Belgium

Having lost the first World Cup Regatta last year when Tim was unable to race, we were determined that this was not going to happen again. We trained well and focused on what we wanted to achieve. Although the boat was not always going that well, we were all looking forward to the first 2000m race of the season.

May: The first World Cup Regatta, Hazewinkel

Belgium is probably not top of the list of places you dream of visiting, but I was looking forward to seeing mates from other countries that I had not seen since the World Championships. Unfortunately, the entry for this regatta was not that big with many of the larger countries staying away. While this left our event without some of the faster crews, we felt this might not be such a bad thing as a more low key start to the season could have its advantages. Our races through the regatta got more fluid as the crew got more used to racing with each other. This culminated in a nice row in the final where we were able to control the race from the beginning and never had to move into top gear. After eight and a half months of not having raced a competitive 2000m the first world cup regatta in Hazelwinkel could not come quick enough. Following the final in Cologne where we had a poor row and personally I did not row the way I had visualised provided me with a picture of what I wanted the four to achieve in it's first race of the 1998/9 season. Through the winter this picture had Tim in the boat, when it was clear he would be unable to race and Ed would row instead the focus changed. Last year at the first world cup race in Munich we raced without Tim due to an aggressive pane of glass. We performed badly and came fourth. This taught me two things; firstly the press reaction emphasised the expectations that exist of any crew containing Steve and Matt. Secondly being a full-time athlete is no fun if you lose, as there is nothing to take your mind off rowing, unbelievably even MTV and the playstation lose their appeal. In the build up to Hazelwinkel we learnt from last years experience and preparation was more focused, both physically and mentally. Having had national trials in Belgium last year I knew what the Belgium weather had in store for us so woolly hats and waterproofs were packed. If I didn't use them I thought I could always lend them to a lightweight to sweat down in. Surprisingly the weather was hot and sunny although a bit windy until after racing on Sunday when all the weekends rain came in the 10 minutes when I had to walk to the coach. The quality of entry in our event was not ideal, as we were the only medallists from last year's world championships present. Norway and Romania (5th and 6th in Cologne) were expected to provide the best competition. Friday's heat was changed to a pointless time trial so FISA could practice timing in case the Olympic final becomes a time trial due to unfair conditions. We were unsure of our boat speed going into Hazelwinkel and the time trial gave us little more information as crews played around because with less than 12 entries we all went to the semi-finals on Saturday anyway. The semi gave us a better idea of our speed and the level of competition. We were in control from the start and it was a great feeling to be side by side racing again. True to my predictions Norway and Romania failed to make the final. The final went a similar way to the semi where we controlled the race and did not have to use top gear in the second half. It was a nice opener and gave us plenty to work on before we meet the big boys of Australia, France, Italy and Germany in Vienna. I can't wait. For other British crews there were mixed fortunes often depending on the level of competition in their event. I guess the women's heavy and light doubles will be disappointed as will the men's lightweight four. The heavyweight pairs did well with Dot and Cath dominating their event. 'Little and Large' (Williams and Dennis) raced well coming second and defeating the Olympic silver medallists in the process. The men's eight finished the regatta with a silver half a length behind Romania. So it's off to the bank to change our Belgium francs into Austrian shillings. Roll on Vienna. Our next race is in Vienna on 18 - 21 June. We found out today that we will be racing with Ed as Tim is still not 100% fit. The decision as to who will be in the boat for Henley will be decided after Vienna. It's great to have two such good athletes fighting over one seat. Roll on Vienna

June: The second World Cup Regatta, Vienna

We have just returned from Vienna following the second of the three regatta World Cup series. The regatta course is situated alongside the River Danube on a canal. This course has special meaning for the three of us who raced in the four this weekend. The World Championships were held here in 1991, it was here that Steve and Matt started their domination of the pair event. It was also here that I started my senior international career, strangely enough in the coxless fours although the result in 1991 was nothing too much to shout about. This weekend the competition was better than Belgium three weeks ago, this time we raced the French, silver medallists from the Olympics and the last two World Championships. Unfortunately the weather was not better than three weeks ago. Our heat on Friday was the second from last race and they suspended racing due to the wind. Sitting on the start with the waves breaking on the bows and coming into the boat I was wondering if we could make it to the finish without sinking. We did make it and won the heat although by the end I was so wet I might as well have swam it. Winning our heat meant we did not have to race again until Sunday so we gained some sadistic pleasure from watching all the people who had to race on Saturday struggle into the wind. Our pleasure was further increased when the wind dropped on Sunday and the sun came out. This almost, but not quite, made up for having to get up at 6am as our race had been brought forward to the morning. The final did not go as well as we thought it would. The French were not as fast as we expected; instead it was Norway who pushed us all the way down the track. We have only got two crews from last year's final who we have not raced this season, Italy (bronze) and Australia (fourth). We will meet these crews in Switzerland at the final of the World Cup Regatta. Now it is off to Henley Regatta where we will be racing the Danish Lightweight Olympic Champions. They have to race at under 72.5kg in their event but are extremely fast and it should be a great race. Hopefully it will go our way and it will be us enjoying the Pimms on Sunday night.