46 events Racing ahead in 175th year
With the Henley Royal Regatta’s 175th anniversary this year it’s set to be an extra special one, so we talk to rowing champion Sir Steve Redgrave to take a closer look at this incredible sporting institution
Nowhere is the air more abuzz with the bold and beautiful than at Henley Royal Regatta. From the official hospitality along the picturesque banks of Fawley Meadows to The Stewards’ Enclosure, rowing enthusiasts and party people alike don their colourful blazers and glad rags to take in the atmosphere at one of England’s most prestigious regattas.
Few sporting events can match the rich heritage and history of the Henley Royal Regatta as it pre-dates any national or international rowing organisation, has its own rules and regularly attracts crews from all over the world to take on its head-to- head knock-out competitions down the one mile, 550 yards (2,112 m) River Thames course.
As a steward of Henley Royal Regatta no one knows the twists and turns of this river better than five-time Olympic gold medallist Sir Steve Redgrave. Bucking the trend of rowing being the sport of private school and university students, Redgrave was from the comprehensive system and heard of rowing through his English teacher.
“It was 1976, I was 13 and had never even thought about rowing, so when my head of English started a boat club I thought, why not. There were only four of us and the sense of camaraderie was brilliant.” To his surprise, Redgrave won his first race and, enjoying Monday morning school assembly notoriety, went on to win all seven junior competitions. “At the age of 17, some of the team thought they had reached their zenith and dropped out, while I started my dream of winning the Olympics,” he said.
Now with a hard won level of ability, Redgrave had the perfect balance of challenge and achievement and there was nowhere he loved to train more than at Henley. “Any rower in the world wants to race there at least once in their career, and it was right on my doorstep,” he said.
Usually a nice quiet town, Henley comes alive around
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regatta time in July, changing character entirely. Known as a ‘rower’s reunion’, it’s as much a sporting spectacle as a social event, with people meeting up from college, university and school rowing clubs. “As a purist sport, unlike horse racing, there are no bookies present. One of my sponsors would encourage people to engage with the racing more as corporate entertainment by letting people choose who they thought would win each race and putting their bets in a kitty for charity.” Redgrave says that a top tip is to look at the previous day's results in the back pages of the programme.
Within rowing, Redgrave had always wanted to be a single sculler and admired Finnish rower Pertti Karppinen who won three consecutive single titles, Montreal, Moscow and Los Angeles. “I didn’t win much in single sculling, but strangely I’m still reigning Commonwealth Games champion in single sculls. As it’s now not counted as a sport in the Commonwealth Games, because only the UK, New Zealand, Australia and Canada produce good rowers, no one can beat me.” Going on to win five Olympic gold medals,
choosing a high point in Redgrave’s career isn’t easy and, as a father of three, Redgrave compares it to trying to choose a favourite child. “Each win has its own character and special place, but if you twisted my arm, I would have to say my first Olympic gold in 1984. Once you’ve won that first one, it’s easier to re-achieve success, because you know you’ve done it before.”
As Redgrave fears he will not make Henley Royal Regatta’s 200th anniversary, he is all set to attend his favourite waterway for this year’s 175th anniversary. “Although I’ve been retired for over 13 years now, whenever I see a bit of water, I relate it to the rowing conditions. Crossing the Channel to France, I think the choppy waters would be horrible to row on, while driving around Europe I will see a lake like a river and start dreaming.”
This summer enjoy the world’s most prestigious rowing event and staple of the British summer season in style and comfort from the picturesque banks of Fawley Meadows or the stunning private oasis of Temple Island. A day of fully-inclusive official hospitality will deliver hours of award-winning food, drink and world class-rowing action.
Details: Chris Wickham 0844-826-2428
HenleyRoyalRegatta.uk@
sodexo.com
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