Eton Success

The Duke of Wellington is famously claimed to have said that the Battle of Waterloo 'was won on the playing fields of Eton'.  While this may or may not be the case, twenty six gold medals will be won on the boating lake of Eton this summer.  Dorney Lake, host to the rowing and canoe sprint events, is, astonishingly, completely owned by the college and hired by the games this summer.  At least there's no issue over legacy here.

Getting crowds of twenty thousand people out to the Windsor venue is a massive logistical challenge, but an army of shuttle busses from local stations manage to deliver nearly a capacity crowd for the very start of the morning's racing.  They've come to see Tim Brabants, gold medal winner in Beijing, start the defence of his K1 100m title in the first heat of the day.  Brabants, now 35, took eighteen months out of the sport to pursue his career as an Accident & Emergency doctor after winning gold.  He's a youngster compared to the oldest competitor in the regatta, mind - the astonishing Josefa Idem of Italy is competing in her eighth olympics, having won a bronze medal her debut in Los Angeles in 1983 (and has qualified for the K1 final again this year)!

The powerhouses in Canoe Sprint are Hungary and Germany, but while European nations dominate alongside a few paddlers from North America and Australia, there are also representatives from countries as diverse as Samoa and Angola racing this morning.  The crowd give them great support, encouraged by the sound system which has shunned the usual Olympic soundtrack for a light helping of dance tunes and even some drum'n'bass.

Surprisingly, several racers use the 1000m event as race practice for the 200m competition, working hard for that distance and then cruising the rest of the way.  There is even one bizarre heat in which five boats compete for five qualifying spots.  Unsurprisingly, a couple take it very easy indeed.  In an Olympics where we've seen competitors disqualified from both Badminton and Athletics for taking tactical decisions not to give their full effort, I have to say I don't like this, and find it very strange that the Canoe Sprint authorities allow it to continue.

When the racing is good though, it's compelling.  The precise coordination needed by pairs and quartets to match each others timing and technique is shaded only by the balance of the 'C' class racers, who kneel in their canoe and manage to keep themselves upright while pushing back water with incredible force.

Brabants makes his final, and the British K4 team (powered on by Louisa Sawers, who I spoke to yesterday) only just miss out on automatic qualification.  They look good in their semi final though, and the crowd was delighted to see them into their final in the very last action of the day.  Massive congratulations to the girls, who race after Brabants tomorrow morning.