RowingRelated

The top 10 best rowing coaches, including guess who (Photo © Iain Weir / Rowing Photography ) It's time for the third and final part of our 3-part series on the best of the best in the rowing coaching ranks. These coaches not only command respect based on performance, but have also shown the ability to adapt to new circumstances, build dynasties, and ultimately help shape the trajectory of rowing as a sport. Honestly, it would be easy to extend this series into 10 more posts... But we wouldn't do that to you. As we've said before, the hope is that the following may serve to educate and spark discussion, as both an appreciation of history and of the coaching craft. Also note: As we stated in Part 1 and Part 2 of this series, there are few women in this list, but that is a reflection of a general underrepresentation of women in the head coaching ranks in our sport—and indeed (as has been well documented ) a growing number of NCAA sports in the United States. ...

JDS in his element (Photo © Tristan Shipsides) Before he decided to pursue a world record off the water, Australian Josh Dunkley-Smith had already earned two Olympic silver medals in one of the slickest crews to grace the rowing course, the Australian men's four—really, an institution in our sport. It's not as though he didn't know he had an engine, but, as he says below, it wasn't until recently that the pursuit of his own physical limits made the idea of a new 2k world record seem within reach. And recently, that potential came to fruition. 1. With two Olympic medals already to your name, it would be easy to say that you had nothing to prove—what was it that drove you to want to break this record? JDS: "The fact that it was held by a Kiwi. [Laughs] Nah, I think mainly just the self improvement aspect really—challenging yourself and seeing how far you can really push things. You follow that all the way through, and I was lucky enough that I sort of found...