Rhubarb 2024

DRTOM MIDDLETON (Apsley, 1989-1994) GB SCULLING, 2000 OLYMPICS

I thought my Olympic dream had ended in the Spring of 2000, when I finished third in a closely contested pairs trial to form a Lightweight Four to attempt to qualify for Sydney. I then spent the rest of the summer racing in an eight, culminating with a silver medal at the World Championships in Zagreb.A couple of good results in long-distance trials in the single earlier in the season, though, were enough for me to get the call to go out to Sydney as spare man for the Lightweight Double Scull. One of the crew,Tim Male, then obliged by tripping over a trestle at the holding camp on the Gold Coast and breaking his wrist on my birthday (I didn’t put the trestle there!). Bad news for him and his partner Tom Kay, but an exciting and unexpected challenge for me to race in

the Games.We then set about putting together a fast double scull in four weeks rather than the usual four years, to race in an event with some of the smallest margins in the Olympics. In the end we didn’t come particularly close to coming back with a medal, but did make some other crews work for theirs!

INTERVIEW

Australians love sport and a party, so the Sydney Games were particularly special and after racing I was lucky to get trackside seats in the stadium on the famous night when Cathy Freeman won the 400m and Jonathan Edwards won the triple jump for GB.What sticks in my mind most though is Tom Kay’s calmness and kindness to me in what must have been a very difficult situation for him.

STEWART INNES (Kendall, 2004-2009) GBROWING 2016 OLYMPICS

I competed in the Men's Pair at the 2016 Rio Olympics and finished fourth.

Tom Middleton on the right.

My standout moment from the Games was the sense of perfect calm that came over me on the start line of the Olympic Final. From the first moment I started rowing at Teddies, I knew I wanted to compete in the Olympics. After years of training for it, I had built a set of preconceived ideas, ranging from the amount of sleep I would get the night before, to my nerves on the start line and the look and feel of the Olympic village. Everything was completely different from the picture I had built in my mind. After years of preparation, I slept like a baby the night before and felt calm, ready, excited, and relaxed on the start line.

I retired from sport in 2020 after three years of struggling with injury. Despite a successful return to competition in 2020, the pandemic struck in the middle of Olympic selection trials and left no way to continue. Joining the working world in mid-2020 during the pandemic, I first set up a motivational speaking business, before pivoting to join PwC as a management consultant in the health and life sciences team.This move was dedicated to addressing

some of the systemic issues I experienced as a patient while injured.

Stewart Innes on the right.

38