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'If you want a gold medal, you must go the extra mile. Coming second is not an option'
Andrew Triggs-Hodge only took up rowing by chance. Now he hopes to emulate Steve Redgrave and Matthew Pinsent at next year's Olympics.
It has already been an exhausting day for Olympic oarsman Andrew Triggs-Hodge.
Up at 7am, he endured a punishing 90 minute weight-training session in the gym followed by a gruelling 20 kilometre row into a headwind, the freezing spray from the water lapping into his boat.
There is time for a light lunch, and chance to rest limbs, before he prepares to get back on the water for another 12 kilometres
of high-tempo rowing on a lake, that will strain every muscle in
his body.
His huge hands, which resemble those of a pugilist ready for battle, are blistered while the dawning of winter, and cold weather, adds to the sense of foreboding.
It's going to be a demanding session; one lesser men would readily skip. Yet there are no complaints from Andrew. For the 28-year-old knows that he will be one training stint nearer his ultimate goal – a gold medal at next summer's Beijing Olympics.
And it is a sacrifice that the Yorkshire oarsman knows he will have to make if he is to follow Steve Redgrave and Matthew Pinsent – the two knights of world rowing – and triumph in the Men's Coxless Four, Britain's flagship boat.
This will be Andrew's life every day between now and the Olympic opening ceremony in eight months' time.
"I was talking to our coach, Jurgen Grobler, only this morning about this. There are no shortcuts to what we do," says Andrew whose flowing blond hair makes him one of rowing's most recognisable figures.
"When it is freezing cold in winter, the nights are closing in and your hands are blistered, then, yes, it can be quite daunting.
"But, if you're not training, then you know there will be someone else who is a bit more crazy than you.
"I like to think we have the coaching – and physiological back-up – that pushes us to the limit while also making sure we have enough left in the tank for the Olympics, our ultimate goal.
"Gold medals cannot be won in the winter. But they can be lost. That's what I keep reminding myself as I go out on to the water. It will hurt, but hopefully it will be worth it."
It's been a meteoric rise for Andrew who only stepped into a boat eight years ago after his family moved to "landlocked" Hebden, just downstream from Grassington, in 1980.
The closest that the former pupil of Burnsall Primary and Upper Wharfedale Schools came to the water was cycling along the River Wharfe.
"My parents were probably ahead of their time; they insisted I cycled everywhere, I remember going up and down the Dales," recalls Andrew who earned some money working behind the bar at the Black Horse, Grassington. "It's ironic, really, because I now do so much work on the exercise bike.
"I played rugby at school. I was one of those big, not very athletic, second row forwards. I was never a natural.
"The one thing I do recall is watching Steve Redgrave and Matthew Pinsent on television win gold at the Atlanta Olympics in 1996 – when Steve said he could be shot if he went near a boat again – and contemplated what it would be like as a sport.
"Going slow and methodical sounded right up my street!"
He would soon find out.
Determined to improve his fitness – and participate in an athletic sport that was "more serious than rugby" while studying environmental science at the University of Staffordshire – he took the advice of a friend to join the rowing club.
It was a life-changing decision. As he took his first tentative strokes on the idyllic Rudyard Lake – which gave its name to the writer Rudyard Kipling, whose parents first met by its shores – he became inspired by the challenge of a new sport.
He was helped, in no small part, by the passion of his then coach, Ed Green, who, Andrew says, taught far more than "good technique". He taught a winning mentality – a hunger to win.
"I had a great two years and he said to me at the end that I might be quite good at rowing," recalled Andrew. "I was slightly taken aback. I thought I was quite good. But, in a way, he had thrown down the challenge as rowing, by then, had taken over my life."
After graduating in 2000, Andrew moved to London, and joined Molesey Boat Club on the banks of the River Thames near Hampton Court Palace, where an international career would beckon.
He won his first GB senior vest two years later – a proud moment – that was a colossal contrast from the despair of finishing ninth and last in the men's "eight" at the 2004 Olympics.
"We came last and it was awful. We were wide-eyed, optimistic. You can be trained to within
an inch of your life, but there's more than just technique. Something was not right. It was one of the best times of my life. And the worst."
A week-long blowout – and a ticket to watch the precocious boxer Amir Khan win a silver medal – made Hodge realise the fine line between success and failure.
He vowed to train even harder.
Combining his rowing with an honours degree in water science at Oxford University, he stroked the Dark Blues to victory in the 2005 Boat Race before the first of two World Championship gold medals in the Men's
coxless four.
In recognition of Hodge's powerhouse frame – here are 97 kilos of raw muscle – he filled the seat vacated by the legendary Matthew Pinsent after Athens.
And, alongside Oxford team-mate Peter Reed, plus accomplished oarsman Alex Partridge and Steve Williams, the quartet looked to be Britain's gold medal banker in Beijing as Lottery funding enabled them to train full-time.
Until, that is, this summer's World Championships in Munich when the British boat, hot favourites to complete their hat-trick of titles, finished a mystifying fourth and outside
the medals.
Andrew, who hopes to become Yorkshire's first Olympic champion since Leeds swimmer Adrian Moorhouse struck gold in 1988, admits that the defeat was painful.
He also admits that there has been much "soul-searching" within the GB ranks about how their technique needs to be honed further. It helps that he is a great analyst.
The plus side, says Andrew, is that the setback did not come in an Olympic final – they have a year to rectify matters.
He is also buoyed by the fact that Pinsent and James Cracknell, now a TV personality, suffered a similar setback in 2003 before striking gold in Athens when they were switched into the Men's coxless four. "We're not going into the unknown," says Andrew.
Yet, at the back of his mind, he knows that Jurgen Grobler – the GB coach who originally hails from East Germany – will be totally ruthless when it comes to selection policy.
Having guided Pinsent and Redgrave to so many successes, Grobler's desire to win is so strong that he will readily cast aside any assumed friendships in order to achieve his objective.
That is why every training session is, in effect, a race for Andrew Triggs-Hodge and all those GB rowers competing for Olympic berths in the various boats. Their number also includes Guiseley's Debbie Flood who is hoping to secure the women's team first ever gold.
In effect, every rower is a rival, as these finely-tuned athletes count down to a whole series of races, starting with exacting five kilometre races prior to Christmas, which will culminate in the final time trials next April. There is no room for sentiment. Past form, says Andrew, counts for nothing. It's your next row that counts. And that, he believes, is why British rowing has enjoyed so much success.
"The signs are good – but I know I have to earn my place in the GB boat," says the oarsman whose spare time is confined to sleeping so that his large frame can recover from its pounding. "Jurgen Grobler knows that too. What's he like? He's a two-dimensional man. He can be a very nice, friendly guy who is your best friend working for you. You know he wants a gold medal as much as you do.
"On the flip side, he's the most ruthless, hard-hearted person imaginable. He will do whatever it takes to ensure his best boat wins gold, even if it means dismantling his whole squad."
Another key influence is Sir Steve Redgrave – the five-times Olympic champion.
"Whenever he talks to me, you feel inspired by his passion," says Andrew. "Maybe he's missing the sport a little bit. He has great experience. And, if he smiles at you, you know you've done well. I'd love to get to know him better."
Yet Andrew knows it is now down to him if he wants to win just one gold medal, never mind five.
Redgrave and Pinsent have set the standard – and he is determined to confront that challenge head-on.
"This is my life – it couldn't be more different from growing up in Yorkshire ," adds Andrew as he prepares for the day's final training stint where he knows every stroke will be closely monitored by his coach for any potential signs of weakness.
"This is what I've done for six years. This is what I've sacrificed a lot of nights out, and time with the family, for. It's why I haven't been home for more than a year.
"If you want to win a gold medal, you have to be prepared to go the extra mile. This is the world of elite rowing and elite sport. We're here for gold medals – coming second is not an option."
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Saturday 11 February 2012
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