Rowing: Wells fit to link up with team in Munich

May 1 2008 by Stuart Rayner, The Journal

MATT Wells will be reunited with double sculls partner Stephen Rowbotham at this season’s opening rowing world cup.

The Hexham rower’s campaign has been disrupted by injury but he will be back on the water in Munich next month.

The pair – bronze medallists at the 2006 World Championships and fourth in 2007 – are medal hopes for this summer’s Olympics in Beijing. Durham’s Jess Eddie has retained her place in the women’s eight.

Meanwhile, Alex Partridge, the rower who missed the Athens Olympics after puncturing a lung just five weeks before the Games, has been dealt another blow in his quest for gold in Beijing. He has been dumped out of Britain’s flagship coxless four boat and replaced by Tom James. Partridge will take a seat in the eight boat instead for the World Cup in Munich.

But the man whose name was emblazoned on the prow of the boat as a tribute when Sir Matthew Pinsent, James Cracknell, Steve Williams and Ed Coode won Olympic gold in 2004 refused to be downhearted after receiving the news from head coach Jurgen Grobler.

Partridge said: “It’s disappointing not to finish off what I started four years ago in the four but it’s not the end of the story. It’s disappointing that we portray the four as the lead boat as if it’s the only boat that’s got a chance.

“I’m really excited about being in the eight. New boat, new project. Both myself and Jurgen are realists. I’m not going to cry about it. I’m going to get on and make whatever boat I’m in go as fast as I possibly can. Just because the eight is not called the lead boat doesn’t mean it’s not got a very good chance of winning a gold medal. We’ve got a really strong team. I feel I have a real opportunity to realise my goal and win at the Olympics.”

His stoicism was admirable, even though the news must have been devastating for Partridge, who claimed 27 straight victories, including two world titles, as part of the four.

The key was the poor performance of the British boat, beaten into fourth place in the World Championships eight months ago. Since then 24-year-old James has been increasingly impressive and now he joins Williams, Andy Hodge and Peter Reed in the four in Munich next week for the first of three World Cup events before China.

James, who won a bronze in the eight at the 2007 World Championships and has raced four times for Cambridge in the University Boat Race, said: “Alex must be bitterly disappointed. I’m still learning and seeing how the dynamics of the boat work.”

Grobler, who coached Sir Steven Redgrave and Pinsent, admitted it had been a tough decision. He said: “It was very close in testing but as a chief coach you have to have faith in the team you pick.”