Cambridge University’s rowing pedigree officially dates back to 1828 with the establishment of the Cambridge University Boat Club (CUBC). Over the course of nearly two centuries, the club has been graced by the presence of European and World champions, aspiring Olympians and, of course, former Olympians in the shape of James Cracknell. This year, CUBC announced that five alumni had been selected for their respective Olympic teams: Dara Alizadeh (Bermuda), Olivia Coffey (USA), Henry Fieldman (GB), Imogen Grant (GB), and Ida Gørtz Jacobsen (Denmark).
Speaking of self-discipline, Alizadeh will represent Bermuda as a single sculler this summer, making the switch to sculling in the months after his 2019 Boat Race victory. Alizadeh initially missed out on Olympic qualification at the 2019 World Rowing Championships, but rectified this at the Americas Qualification Regatta last March. Describing his first sculling performance as “a humbling experience”, Alizadeh revels in the “unforgiving” nature of being in the shell on your own: “you’re totally in charge of everything you do and anything that doesn’t happen is your own fault”.
As an elite athlete, Alizadeh was lucky enough to continue training during the pandemic, believing it to be “the truest sense of character because zero people are watching”. National lockdown allowed Alizadeh to work on his relatively new craft of sculling away from the spotlight of competition: “just focus on the process and the score will take care of itself”. The same can be said for his lockdown curls, cultivating a feline look as “a fun thing to do in a weird year” - an unmissable appearance on the podium.
Coming off the back of the Eights Regatta in Cambridge, Alizadeh celebrates the opinion that rowing is “the only sport that a complete novice can pick up and in four years be knocking on the door of the Olympic team”.
While Varsity were unable to speak to her, the rapid success of Team GB’s Imogen is a perfect testament to the claim’s credibility, first learning to row as an undergraduate at Trinity College in 2014 and then going on to win gold at the 2018 U23 World Championships. Undoubtedly, hard work makes the chronology possible and Alizadeh stresses this reality by pushing the importance of choice rather than sacrifice: “if rowing is a sacrifice, don’t do it”. Instead, think of it as “I’m making choices for the betterment of myself and, even if I fail, it is still worth it”.
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