Hoping to avoid heartbreak
Ian Seymour aims to make his Olympic debut aged 32, writes Ian Anderson.
Kiwi rower Ian Seymour’s not afraid to have his heart broken.
But the 32-year-old is determined it won’t happen again – not if he can help it.
When Seymour was part of the New Zealand men’s coxed four that won gold at the under-23 world rowing championships in the Czech Republic in 2009, his career prospects looked bright. He graduated the following year to the senior NZ team and was part of the eight attempting to qualify for the 2012 London Olympics.
That boat was pipped for a spot by the United States in the final qualification regatta, meaning Seymour wasn’t going to his first Olympics.
‘‘That was obviously heartbreaking for everyone,’’ he said from Lake Karapiro this week. ‘‘It was something we thought we could have done but I guess we didn’t quite execute on the day.’’
Dealing with that disappointment came next.
‘‘I still had the fire in the belly – but it was one of the Olympics haven’t watched. It felt like the rug was pulled out underneath our feet. Then you have eight guys at peak fitness scratching their heads, contemplating life.
‘‘I still had the motivation – I trained hard that winter while everyone else was getting ready for the Olympics, then next summer trained hard at Blenheim. I spent a couple of years doing as much as I could but didn’t get the opportunity to get back into a New Zealand crew.
‘‘At the time, it was disheartening – maybe my shortterm memory suits me well or I’m a sucker for punishment. Maybe I just didn’t have the mental fortitude, or the maturity that’s served me well in the last two years.’’
He’s now back in the New Zealand eight for the first time in nine years – with another Olympic Games in his sights.
South Africa-born Seymour, who moved to Australia with his mother and sister in 1997, grew up in the small farming town Nhill in Victoria and went Ballarat Grammar as a boarder, where he learnt to row.
‘‘I moved to New Zealand in late 2002 to live with my father in Nelson and went to Nayland College – I was the only rower there,’’ he said, laughing.
But Mark Stallard, coach of the New Zealand men’s quad, put a picture in Seymour’s mind of his possibilities. But, post-London 2012, Seymour found himself on the outer.
‘‘If you’re not part of the programme over summer, it’s hard to push back into a crew – and they made it pretty clear they were moving toward that under23 eight they selected in 2014 that were double under-23 world champs. Unfortunately, that undercut the potential of some older guys that could have bridged that gap.’’
So Seymour moved to Christchurch, did a carpentry apprenticeship and didn’t touch a boat for three or four years.
‘‘I didn’t want the chance of the heartbreak of doing it again.’’
But two summers ago, he jumped into a surf boat with the New Brighton club and won a national title in Gisborne. Buoyed, he formed the Barbarians Rowing Club with a couple of mates with the aim of competing at the prestigious Henley Royal Regatta in England.
‘‘We rowed an eight at the 2018 national champs, comprised mostly of ex-New Zealand rowers, and I think I underestimated the impact of that – it was pretty special. A lot of people go through hard times after you finish anything – be it sport, a career, relationships.’’
Inspired, Seymour moved to Waikato to be near Rowing New Zealand’s high performance setup at Lake Karapiro.
‘‘If there was another chance, I though I’d have to be around here kicking the door down.’’
He trained with the Waikato Regional Performance Centre with assistance from Rowing NZ and made the New Zealand team to contest international regattas last year.
But results – D and B finals in a reserve pair at world cups and a C final with the four at the world champs – didn’t indicate
Seymour was a contender for Tokyo selection. But he wasn’t disheartened. ‘‘I spent a lot of time in the eight last year training. I like to think I filled that role as a supersub. I obviously wanted to be in the boat but I was humbled that I was even part of the team. I always had my eyes set on Tokyo.’’
At the 2019 world champs, the NZ men’s eight agonisingly missed automatic qualification for the Olympics when sixth in the final, with the top five crews gaining spots.
Now, they have to finish in the top two at the final qualification regatta in Lucerne, Switzerland, in May.
Seymour said the Kiwi women’s eight that won world champs gold for the first time last year acts as an inspiration.
‘‘We were hanging off the side of the grandstand, cheering them on – it was pretty special, even as we were picking our bottom lip off the ground after not qualifying. They were showing us how it’s done.’’
Seymour and his crewmates – Phillip Wilson, Tom Mackintosh, dual Olympic champ Hamish Bond, Shaun Kirkham, Brook Robertson, Stephen Jones, James Lassche and coxswain Sam
Bosworth – know the pressure will be in intense in Lucerne. He’s relishing the challenge.
‘‘It’s kind of what we live for. We’ve probably got the best group I’ve been part of collectively. We’ve got no control over any other crew and I think that’s why I love rowing. I don’t see any reason why we can’t.’’
After a buildup World Cup regatta in Italy was cancelled last week due to the coronavirus, World Rowing said a decision on whether the qualifying regatta will be held will be made early next week.
If it is cancelled, that’s likely to work in New Zealand’s favour, given they were next-best at the world champs, but Seymour didn’t want to take that for granted.
Besides the chance of Olympic glory, what drives Seymour in such a punishing sport?
‘‘It’s a challenge, physically and mentally, every day – and you don’t see the rewards very often.
‘‘I love it because of the fact that you challenge yourself, with your mates. It’s the ultimate in trust – that we’ll go home and recover, that we’ll give the best effort in training, in the gym, in races.
‘‘I love working hard – I kinda don’t like sitting around.’’