RowingRelated

The above (very nicely produced) video covers the eighth  African Rowing Championships , which were held in Alexandria, Egypt from 28 November-2 December, 2012, and saw athletes from nine countries compete across 16 events. While Egypt dominated the racing, taking home no less than nine gold medals when all was said and done, Algerian athlete Amina Rouba had a golden regatta of her own, as noted on the official website of FISA: The standout athlete was Amina Rouba of Algeria. Rouba picked up three gold medals from racing in the lightweight women’s single sculls, lightweight women’s double sculls and women’s double sculls. Rouba, 26, was Algeria’s sole rower at the London Olympic Games where she competed in the women’s single sculls finishing 26th. [To read the full write-up on the FISA website , please follow the link.] The event reflects ongoing efforts by the governing body of World Rowing to grow the sport on the African continent, with a recent and notable example c...

Whatever your take on FISA's decision to include Niger's Hamadou Djibo Issaka in the 2012 Olympic Rowing Regatta, the move highlighted FISA's continuing efforts to make rowing (and sculling) a more global affair. While the likes of Sir Steve Redgrave publicly criticized the decision , Issaka became a fan favorite at Eton Dorney, receiving some of the largest ovations at the regatta outside of those reserved for athletes representing the home country. In keeping with that sentiment, and as someone interested in the international development of our sport, I couldn't help but find the above video fascinating. Shot at the 2011 African Olympic Qualification Regatta in Alexandria, Egypt, the video shows the A Final of the men's single. The class of this field is clearly Nour El-Din Mohamed of Egypt (listed on the FISA website as Nour El Din Hassanein), who would go on to a 20th place finish in London, while James Fraser-Mackenzie of Zimbabwe, in his first Olympics...