LONDON CALLING: World title failure fires Rowbotham (From Swindon Advertiser)

LONDON CALLING: World title failure fires Rowbotham

6:00am Saturday 4th February 2012 in Local

“LOSERS train harder,” reflects Swindon-born rower Steve Rowbotham.

It’s a sentiment that has become deeply ingrained in the 30-year-old’s philosophy as he and his teammates prepare to compete in the quadruple sculls at London 2012.

This is because the foursome have the proverbial monkey on their back that no amount of positive World Cup results can shift - failure at last year’s World Championships - a result which can only be banished from the memory with a medal-winning display next summer.

Rowbotham, alongside Tom Solesbury, Bill Lucas and Sam Townsend went into the regatta at Lake Bled, Slovenia ranked second in the world, but disaster struck when they finished third in heat two, with their time not quick enough to qualify them for the top six.

Victory in the B final proved scant reward, as Rowbotham explains.

“It was very disappointing,” said the Leander Club man, who was raised in Cirencester until the age of 14.

“We were looking to defend our position if not better it, but it just didn’t happen for us. Something went wrong in our training camp beforehand because we started losing speed, but I think we were still pretty confident and hopeful it would come together.

“We’ve had to look hard at ourselves because we aren’t in the business to come seventh.”

The morsel of comfort that Rowbotham and his fellow crew members could take away from Bled was that with a top-11 finish, at least they had qualified for the London Olympics.

Therefore all the gruelling hours of training over the winter would not just be with a view to getting a few decent results in World Cup events in 2012, but building up to the biggest sporting event of their lives.

Rowbotham might have won bronze in the men’s double sculls at the Beijing Olympics in 2008, but he acknowledges that achieving a podium finish, and even gold, at Eton Dorney would be something really special.

“I feel very lucky because I won a medal in Beijing, and to have a home Games is a once in 100 years opportunity, that’s the pinnacle of anyone’s life,” he said.

“I always expect to win, that’s the first thing, but I’d be stupid to shout from the rooftops that we’re going to win now.

“We should look to medal, that’s the main priority, and if it’s gold then great.”