A word on rowing from Cop and Spik 

There is no other athlete in Slovenia that is as successful as Iztok Cop. Rowing is his sport. When Cop retires Luka Spik could well take over that position. Rowing is his sport. Currently the two race together. This year they became FISA Rowing Male Crew of the Year.

Cop was the first person to win a World Championship medal in Slovenia (newly independent in 1991) and by that stage he already had two Junior Championship titles from racing for the former Yugoslavia. Along with Spik, Cop has made rowing the most successful sport internationally for Slovenia, himself winning three medals from four Olympic Games.

Spik was just 16 when he first competed at the Olympics. At 19 he won his first World Championship title and followed this up a year later by winning Olympic gold. Both medals were in the double with Cop. The duo raced together again at the Athens Olympics finishing with silver. At this year's World Rowing Championships, Spik competed, with Cop, in two events winning his second World Championship title in the double and a silver in the quad.

The duo received the FISA award at the gala dinner at the recent World Rowing Forum in Istanbul, Turkey. Cop, with 20 years experience in the sport of rowing, expressed words of caution is his acceptance speech;

?Next to all the medals that I have won in the past years, this is definitely the most prestigious award in my, not so small, collection. It is an honor to be even noticed in this crowd of the great athletes. But I sincerely hope that this award will have as much value in the next decades as it has today, which mostly depends whether the sport of rowing will be able to follow the competition or will it drawn in the history.?
 
World Rowing journalist Melissa Bray talked to the duo about how it all began, their legacy in Slovenia and their future.

World Rowing: Tell me about your start in rowing.

Cop: I tried all different sports, even waterskiing, rowing was the last one I tried. They were the most organised and I saw that if I worked hard I could be a national team member. I was 13.

High school rowing occupied me completely. It took me one hour just to get to the rowing club. I lost most of my friends because of the time I spent with rowing, but I found new ones.

Spik: I was doing volleyball then running. My mother asked me if I'd like to try rowing. I didn't know it existed before seeing it on TV for the 1992 Olympics. I loved it straight away. I was 13. When I started I didn't think I'd go to the Olympics.

World Rowing: Iztok, you are also an accomplished cross country skier.

Cop: Yes, it used to be my first sport. I started with my parents for fun, but there's no club in my hometown and it's not well developed in Slovenia. But it will always be part of my winter training. Last winter I did only skiing for five months and it turned out well.

World Rowing: And you looked at competing in the Winter Olympics as a skier?

Cop with daughter Amber

Cop: I publicly announced this, but it turned out that physically I'm good enough but technically I'm too far behind.

World Rowing: What are the expectations on you in Slovenia?

Cop: People take it that it's normal for me to win medals. If I don't often people are very negative. I get the impression that I'm more respected abroad than here. When I medal it is big news in the media, on TV and in newspapers.

World Rowing: Are you well known in Slovenia?

Spik: People recognise me on the street. Occasionally people ask for my autograph. Rowing is quite famous. People notice the results.

World Rowing: Are your peers proud of you?

Spik: My family is quite proud. But here it's like nothing special with my friends. I tell them ?I'm not different from you, everyone is doing something special'. So my friends don't say, ?oh f**k you're something special'.

World Rowing: Do you earn a living as a rower?

Cop: Rowers don't get much financial support. I occasionally get sponsorships and our government gives money depending on results. I'm also a dealer for Concept2 (rowing machines), Filippi dealer and I run the Cop Challenger.

Spik: I'm a full time athlete. I get money from the rowing club and the government and have my own sponsors like Skoda. They give me a car every year.

World Rowing: Tell me about your training regime.

Cop: Over the winter rowing's not my main occupation. But in the summer I'm training twice a day for two to three hours. Erg training is not a big part of my training. I've only done two erg tests in my life. My best was in Norway three years ago with Olaf (Tufte). I did 5.49 (for 2,000 metres).

Spik: In the summer I wake up at 6.30am have breakfast and train for about two hours. Then the second session is at 6pm of 2 ? 3 hours then dinner and maybe a beer depending on how the day went.

World Rowing: What are the dynamics like in the double with Iztok?

Racing at the World Rowing Championships, 2005

Spik: He's the captain. He says things (during a race) but not much, like just one word. Before a race we have a meeting with our coach to discuss how to race. When I first started rowing I didn't have a mentor, now probably Iztok is the one, especially from 1998 when I'm in the boat with him. We also compete against each other. Every year I try to beat him and Iztok doesn't want to be beaten. It's good competition. We are just together for training. We're rowing partners, nothing else.

World Rowing: Are there up-and-coming rowers in Slovenia that can take over from you?

Cop: We've had a lot of junior medal winners, but Luka is the only one that has managed to continue to be successful.

World Rowing: What are your future plans in the sport?

Cop: I want to stay in the sport but don't see myself as a coach. I would like to see some changes and I have ideas in my head. But I don't want to use my energy if they are not welcomed.

I thought I'd quit after Sydney but after taking two months off I wanted to keep going. Now Beijing is the goal, but we'll see. I want to go only if I am able to get a medal.

Spik: Definitely Beijing, maybe with my brother (Jan), he's nine years younger than me. We'll see how good he can be and how good I'll be. I want to row in the best boat. London (2012 Olympics) is possible but I'm just doing plans to Beijing. After Beijing I will decide if I go on to London.

Related Links
Cop and Spik 2005 Male Crew of the Year
Winter Olympics for Cop
Small country, big Olympic hopes

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