Firstly I would like to say thank you to everyone who sent me their support whether it was by text, email or phone. In all the races I have competed in, the support has never even come close to that weekend. I love Molesey boat club with all my heart and that weekend I felt the strength of the best club in the world behind me.  Thank you.

I have never been to the Pre-Olympic Qualification Regatta before, and having been, I never want to go back to one again! The feeling there was nothing like any race in the world. The pressure was indeed second to none and every nation that competed raised their game far beyond anything I thought possible.
 
The run up to our race, as some of you may have known, was far from smooth. We had been at the mercy of several serious injuries along the way and lost one of our guys, Alex Gregory, after Lucerne with a Stress fracture in his rib. It was only 10 days before Poznan when we managed more the 8km on the water due to Bill's recovery from his back injury.
 
Despite this and many political decisions along the way, our determination to qualify was unfaltering and even when we arrived in Poznan having only done 5x 250m pieces as serious race preparation we still believed that qualifying was more than possible.

Poznan, in Poland, had a week of weather more akin to that of the UK; not the steady climate we expect of a central European country.  With chaotic wind, racing wasn’t consistent, leaving the number crunches in disarray.  Race plans and form guides were re-written, while the unexpected happened.  From the outset this was just a weird regatta, no womens quads, three men’s 8+, and then a full compliment in other events, lightweights beating heavy’s, as Jurgen said, ‘Zat never happens’!

The Molesey representatives were exposed to a mixed bag.  Acer (who coxed the winning GB 8+) was of course pleased with his first shining Gold Medal.  He was, however, realistic that there are a number of crews to come back, and although it was a good experience to dominate the race from the outset, they (like all of us) have an enormous mountain to climb.  Tom rowed with Robin Bourne Taylor in the Pair.  This new combination had trouble in a bitch of a side wind, exposing the weakness of their few sessions together, denying them of their real speed.  With a second place in the B-final, I think they are aware of how much ‘boat time’ counts and should give them hope when looking at what they will be capable of after a solid training camp.