Men’s four flop sparks bitter infighting
➤ Cracknell denies being ‘smug’ over ending of GB’S long gold run ➤ Crew finish outside medals after nearly crashing into rivals
British Rowing descended into bitter infighting last night after James Cracknell hit back at a claim that he and other Olympic champions would be “smug” about the men’s four’s failure to claim a gold medal. The accusation came from Matt Rossiter, who – alongside Oliver Cook, Rory Gibbs and Sholto Carnegie – could not win Britain’s sixth consecutive Olympic title in the event, one of rowing’s blue riband races.
Britain had won every men’s four since 2000, when Sir Steve Redgrave helped secure victory in Sydney, but that run ended on Tokyo’s Sea Forest Waterway.
Instead, their race finished in chaos, as Britain’s steering went awry in the final 500 metres to drop them out of the medals. They only narrowly avoided crashing into the Italians in the adjacent lane as they attempted to hunt down the leaders, Australia.
But it was Rossiter’s remarkable post-race comments that ignited long-simmering tensions around the national rowing camp, as the 31-year-old rounded on the four’s critics, accusing them of not wanting the team to succeed. He is understood to have been referring chiefly to Cracknell, twice Olympic champion in the four and a Telegraph Sport columnist, whose perceived criticisms of the crew he has called out before.
“It’s just disappointing that those
people will be really smug now that they are part of the legacy that won,” Rossiter said. “That was a motivation to do well. I hope those people are happy we have not continued the gold run.”
Cracknell emphatically denied those claims, saying: “That is rubbish. If that was true, that would have been my sentiments in 2008, 2012 and 2016, and none of the athletes in those boats would have said that about me.
“The idea that I would be concerned about protecting my ‘legacy’ 17 years after I last raced at an Olympics is nonsense. I would be a pretty bitter person if, almost two decades after last competing, I didn’t want the British boat to win.
“I understand the sense of disappointment there must be in the British boat given they were one of the favourites and finished fourth.
“I was gutted for the guys that their race ended that way, but I have always abided by the principle that anything I say on commentary, I would be happy to say to that person’s face, and that is true for Matt in this instance.”
There was incredulity among Cracknell and other former gold medallists at the late steering malfunction, an almost unheard-of event in fours racing at this level. Speaking on commentary for the BBC at the time, Cracknell was unsparing in his verdict. He said: “Someone in the British crew blew up. The only way your steering goes like that is when somebody totally runs out of juice.”
A key reason for the antagonism between men’s fours past and present concerns the departure last year of Jurgen Grobler, who had mentored British crews to record
breaking success throughout his three decades in charge. The exit was curiously timed, just 11 months before these Games, and it has coincided with a precipitous drop-off in fortunes at this Olympic regatta – Britain won four rowing golds at London 2012 and three at Rio 2016.
Nobody was more racked with self-reproach than Rossiter. “It’s pretty rough to finish on that note,” he said, as the British found themselves squeezed off of the podium by Australia, their age-old rivals in the four, Romania and Italy.
The Italians would have secured silver had it not been for the British boat’s errant steering. “We fully biffed into them,” Rossiter acknowledged. “They are pretty p----- off, because maybe we cost them the silver. Sorry to those guys. It’s an outdoor sport and this stuff happens. It’s just heartbreaking when it’s you and not something on Youtube.”
The only consolation for Britain came in the men’s quadruple sculls, where Harry Leask, Angus Groom, Tom Barras and Jack Beaumont finished second to Holland to earn Britain’s first medal in the event after holding off Australia and Poland.
“We’re hugely proud,” said Beaumont. “We’ve worked so hard. We’ve been part of a rowing team that’s had huge success, a huge tradition of British rowing.”