Rowing Preview

Tom Aggar heads the field going for glory at Eton Dorney. 30 Aug 2012

Russia, China and Italy are also expected to field strong teams at London 2012. Alexey Chuvashev, a former solider in the Russian Army who was injured in Chechnya, has emerged over the last two years to be a genuine contender.

British hero Tom Aggar will lead his country’s charge for medals when the rowing events take place at Eton Dorney.

Rowing is the newest sport on the Paralympic programme, having only made its debut at the Beijing 2008 Paralympic Games.

But former rugby player Aggar, who claimed gold in Beijing just three years after an accident left him paralyzed from the waist down, has already made his mark on the sport. Now he hopes to claim another Paralympic Games medal in front of London’s watching crowds when he goes for glory in the men's singles sculls ASM1x.

“You’ve got an outdoor environment, which is fantastic for spectators,” Aggar said. “There are exciting races. The competitions definitely have some close finishes.”

Aggar trains six days a week, four hours each day, in his bid to master his sport. Then he channels all his energy into making the most explosive start possible at the start of each race.

“For the first 30-40 seconds, it’s literally almost a flat-out sprint from the blocks. You’re just trying to get the best start and get a lead on the field,” Aggar said.

“Obviously with rowing, you want your stroke to be as long as possible, as strong as possible, and you want to be as clean as possible with your blade work. You don’t want to create too much splash. You want to be as efficient as possible.”

However, Aggar will not be alone in the hunt for medals. Fellow Brit Nick Beighton, who lost both his legs while serving in Afghanistan, will also be going for glory.

Russia, China and Italy are also expected to field strong teams at London 2012. Alexey Chuvashev, a former solider in the Russian Army who was injured in Chechnya, has emerged over the last two years to be a genuine contender.

Australian Paralympic rowing head coach Chad King believes his team is capable of something special in London, with Erik Horrie among those set to do well.

“We’re definitely there for medals – we’re not going there to make up the numbers. Anyone on that start line or in the A-final will be our main competition. The field of competition is pretty deep,” King said.

Danny McBride (New Zealand) and Ronald Harvey (USA) are two of the other front-runners in a field of 96 athletes competing across four rowing events – the Mixed Coxed Four, mixed Double Sculls, men’s Singles Sculls and women’s Singles Sculls. Each race is held over a 1,000m course.