Olympian's river race might be his last
http://www.stuff.co.nz/waikato-times/sport/2881424/Olympians-river-race-might-be-his-last
Olympic medallist George Bridgewater acknowledges his participation in the Great Race on the Waikato River next weekend may be the last act of his rowing career.
But the Oxford University student wasn't ready to completely shut the door on rowing.
"For me to go back now, it would have to be for a very realistic chance at Olympic gold," said Bridgewater, who won bronze for New Zealand at the Beijing Olympics last year with Nathan Twaddle in the pairs before starting his MBA at Oxford.
"It depends who is around I'm not committing to this year at the moment," Bridgewater confirmed after not being named in the Rowing New Zealand summer squad training for next year's world championships at Lake Karapiro.
"There's nothing more I'd like to win than gold at the Olympics, and to row at the world champs at home would be amazing, too.
"But it's also a huge, huge sacrifice even now I can't even remember some of the really black days I've had," said Bridgewater, who is eyeing a job in "maybe finance, industry, consulting" in London.
Bridgewater will row against former team-mate Twaddle when the visiting crew meet Waikato University men in the Gallagher-sponsored event next Sunday, with the Waikato University women's eight up against Sydney University.
The 26-year-old admitted it felt a little weird when the crew had their first training session yesterday on Lake Karapiro.
"It's strange to be here in these circumstances and it's amazing what's changed at the lake," Bridgewater said of the developments for next year's world champs.
"I'd been sweating it out for nine years looking at the same things. I leave for 12 months and when I come back it's completely different.
"I don't think it would have made it (training) too much easier though," he said, laughing.
The visitors, who won this year's Boat Race against traditional rivals Cambridge University with Bridgewater part of the crew, have brought a powerful line-up.
"We've got the likes of Colin Smith, who won a silver medal as stroke for the Great Britain eight at the Olympics last year, Alex Hearne, who is a member of the US eight and (German) Jan Herzog, who Nathan and I rowed against at the 2004 Olympics."
Bridgewater will be able to tell his crew-mates plenty about some of their rivals.
"Obviously I know Nathan intimately, and Nathan Cohen, who I've trained a lot with," Bridgewater said.
"Then they have a few very good lightweight scullers and under-23 world champs guys."
Bridgewater said the battle for supremacy on the Waikato River was "very much a coxswain's race".
"I've rowed it twice for Waikato and it's always different. Of course, as a rower you're paying attention to the finer points of your stroke rather than the river.