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Rower – Richard Chambers
Richard Chambers first stepped into a boat as a 14 year-old pupil at Coleraine Academical Institute under the watchful eye of Bobby Platt MBE.
Chambers has risen rapidly through the highly competitive Great Britain rowing system. Only two years ago he was winning the men’s pair event at the World under-23 Championships before graduating in 2007 to the senior men’s lightweight four. Their season culminated in winning the World Championships in Munich last September.
“The world championships last year was all a bit surreal. Firstly our main aim was to qualify the boat for the Beijing Olympics. The thought of possibly becoming world champions didn’t cross my mind until we had succeeded in that goal. The semi-final was a really stressful time for me and I am sure the crew as well, I put myself under a lot of pressure to perform in that race. Winning it meant that we could go into the final as a qualified boat for the Olympics. We won it with confidence. From this point on I really started to enjoy things a little bit more as there was some weight of our shoulders. Each individual is different and that’s how I worked through those few days before the semi final and after. The final was awesome and I loved every minute of it. I’ll never forget this, but sitting on the start line James Lyndsey Fynn quietly said to us “there will probably never be a better chance for any of us to be world champions, lets grasp this with everything we have got’ (or something to that effect). That will always stay with me because that’s what we did, each of us committed to achieving a life time goal in those six minutes. I loved every minute of it.”
Below: Nigel Ringland,
Sports Correspondent for Downtown Radio/Cool FM
catches up with Richard Chambers
Going into the Olympic year Chambers and his team mates James Clarke, Paul Mattick and James Lyndsey-Fynn were rightly considered favourites for gold in Beijing. But they were also there to be shot at and they have been disappointing in the three world cup races finishing 2nd, 5th and 6th. So is there cause for concern?
“Becoming world champions was all well and good but another year started and we were all back on a level playing field. Our four has remained the same this year with all of us coming out top in testing, but we have all been pushed by the other athletes in the squad so it wasn’t an easy ride back into the boat. Once back in the boat our aim was and is to be Olympic Champions and even though we have had a rough world cup season that is still our aim. People ask me ‘why are you off form?’ My answer is that we aren’t, we are just trying different things throughout the racing season. We will find what works for us and put it all together at the most important event…..the Olympics.”
He added, “For me personally this year the ups have been right up there with the best but the downs have been really low, but that’s something that you have to deal with as an international athlete. It’s never going to always go your way, you just have to know how to pick yourself up and get back on with the job in hand. The year so far has been a real learning curve, which will help me in the rowing world and in the ‘real’ world. It’s up to me what, and how much, I take from this experience.”
The chemistry in the boat is all important – different personalities, different strengths and weaknesses but all with one goal.
“The four of us are very different. I’ll give you a run down on each person:
James Clarke – the stroke man. He sets the rhythm, the rate and the pace for our boat. He is a musician, maybe that’s why he is so good at his job. A lot rests on his shoulders. He has to lead the rest of us down the race course without saying a word. He is the biggest lightweight in the field and I’m glad he is in my crew and not another’s. He is very strong. Also very laid back and keeps a cool head in racing situations.
Paul Mattick – the muscle man at three. He sits behind Clarkie and backs him up with a lot of power. Paul helps set the good rhythm. Paul is a doctor, not sure what in though. He is very intelligent and has a good idea of what he needs to do in the three seat. Paul never gets into arguments on or off the water.
James Lyndsey Fynn – the two man. There isn’t much to say about James only that he pulls harder than anyone else and pushes himself further over the limit than anyone else. He is a good joker and keeps us laughing when we need it. James always has us prepared the best for races from timings to what to eat and drink before and after weigh in. He makes sure that we all stay healthy and fit during training.
Richard Chambers – myself at bow. I see my job in the boat to be technically good at either end of the stroke so as to set up a good platform for the three guys to work in front of me. I make the calls in training and during racing. I am very opinionated and once I have an opinion I am very stubborn and rarely change my mind. I’m never satisfied with an outing even if it goes well, I always look for more from the crew and they respond well.
Our boat isn’t just made up of four people, Robin Williams, our 5th man is our coach and boy does he have it tough. Robin has been great at guiding us in the right direction and is a great technical coach. The four of us in the boat have very different styles of rowing and robin has been great at helping us adapt to each other’s rowing styles as well as playing to our strengths. I wouldn’t say that there is a natural leader but personally I like to think that I have control over what happens on the water in racing as I make the calls. We all lead in different ways and listen to what each other has to say. We don’t always agree with each other and we are a very out spoken crew, this is probably why we are a successful crew. We don’t bottle up feelings or thoughts.”
Just a few days after the final world cup race Chambers also got engaged to his girlfriend Abi.
“Abi is great and has been a great help to me. She has been with me since my international career started and she has been through the ups and the downs with me as well. Abi is my best friend and I’m looking forward to getting hitched.”
And there’s nothing he’d like better than getting married as an Olympic champion.
“Our main aim as a crew going out to china will be to win gold. Nobody goes to the Olympic Games thinking anything but that. Outside of that aim I want to enjoy myself. The Olympics only happens every four years and there is no guarantee that I will ever get to do it again.”
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