The British, American, Iranian, Bermudian wrestler who can power Cambridge to victory
THE cosmopolitan Dara Alizadeh swapped his highschool passion of wrestling for rowing and now hopes to help power Cambridge to success in today’s Boat Race.
Built like a bear, 24-year-old Alizadeh will row at No 4 — the same number as his four nationalities of British, American, Bermudian and Iranian. At the University of Pennsylvania he won the North West regional competition in wrestling’s sub-88kg category before being told that he ought to concentrate on rowing, a choice which has already seen him represent the USA in their Under 23 national eight. ‘I started wrestling at high school in Boston,’ he says. ‘ In the winter I did wrestling and in the spring I did rowing.
‘I started rowing seriously only because the coach saw me wrestling and suggested I would be a good build for the sport and here I am. It’s a bit surreal.’
The layman might not necessarily see it, but Alizadeh points out that the many parallels between the grapple game and pulling an oar have helped him excel on the water.
‘It’s not the WWE-style stuff. It’s Greco-Roman wrestling,’ he says. ‘Wrestling and rowing both reward toughness. They both last around six minutes — that’s how long a wrestling match lasts — as does a conventional (2km) rowing race. They are both extremely gruelling.
‘Finishing a 2km test and finishing a wrestling match are on a par. It’s very tiring. One person’s force against another’s.
‘Unlike rowing where your force is against an oar handle this is someone trying to gain leverage but it’s an excellent workout, I would always be in excellent shape once I was in the rowing season.
‘They both have a lot of pulling and pushing and your grip is very important in both. Both are extremely taxing physically.’
Alizadeh admits, however, that the unique demands of the Boat Race are very different to what he has experienced in the past.
‘This is 16 to 18 minutes long and side-by- side racing is a new thing for me.
‘The tactics are different to a 2km race but of course that’s what we have adapted to,’ says Alizadeh, who is studying educational policy and spent two years teaching economics and coaching rowing at Winchester College.
His background of having a British mother and father of Iranian heritage — another reason he was interested in wrestling as it is a popular sport there — leave him with plenty of options if his rowing goes to plan at Cambridge.
‘I’ve thought about carrying on after I have finished my studies. If I got the opportunity I would take it. Who would I row for? It’s a good question. It could be for the USA, but I have a British passport and could also, technically, row for Bermuda.’
Iran is not a nation you would readily associate with the Boat Race, but he is proud to partially represent the country in this quintessentially British event.
‘Many of my family are still in Iran so I visit them regularly. It’s a lovely country and I would love to see more people go there.
‘The people are awesome, very hospitable. It’s a truly remarkable place. I would recommend it.’