Golden duo Rock the Boat big time

IT TAKES a special type of mentality to turn torture into fun, but that’s what a pair of Olympic champions have done with increasing success.

James Thompson and Matthew Brittain, members of South Africa’s golden lightweight four at the 2012 London Olympics, dreamed up the Rock the Boat regatta while cycling the Cape Epic in 2013.

They started with two sponsors and 250 entrants, but staging the fifth edition at Roodeplaat Dam yesterday, they had five sponsors and more than 1 000 rowers.

That’s an impressive growth considering this sport has struggled to emerge from the shadows, even in the wake of the 2012 Games.

The format of the regatta throws together rowers of any age and crewing any boat; a school’s eight can take on an Olympian in a single sculls boat. Performances are measured against the world records in boat classes and age groups.

Thompson and Brittain got the idea from the brutal training programme they were subjected to in the national squad.

Training sessions are mini-competitions where crews and individuals race for domination almost every day, irrespective of gender and boat. It’s a painful, brutal battle for seats.

Rock the Boat is sandwiched between the VLC sprints at Germiston and the Buffalo Regatta in East London.

SA rowers like Lawrence Brittain, a silver medallist at the Rio Olympics, returned to action yesterday for the first time since the Games in Brazil.

The break has taken a toll. “I was 15 seconds off my best [in pre-season ergo trials] which is not too bad. I expect to make some big gains quickly,” said Brittain, who teamed up with Kyle Schoonbee yesterday.

They raced in a sponsored boat. Brittain has also picked up two sponsors for clothing and a car, another sign that rowing is moving in the right direction.

In 2013, the gold medal failed to attract corporate interest, and funding was so tight at times that the coaches had to pay for petrol to power their boats so they could oversee training sessions.

The rowing show moves to the coast this weekend where Brittain will team up with his brothers, Matthew, James and Charles, as they bid to score a unique family victory.

Head coach Roger Barrow, not one for saccharine outcomes, has assembled a tough boat to give them competition, comprising John Smith, another member of the London four, Rio Olympian Jake Green, Leo Davis and Schoonbee. That race will be a main event.

The gold medal failed to attract corporate interest and funding was tight at times