David Tanner ? From Boat to Buckingham Palace

David Tanner: Out of sight hero

When it comes to rowing in Great Britain the names Matthew Pinsent and James Cracknell stand out as sporting heroes. The now retired Sir Steven Redgrave was not only a celebrity but the 1990’s became known as the ?Redgrave era? in British rowing. Out of sight another hero operates.

Recently honoured by the Queen, David Tanner, Great Britain’s Amateur Rowing Association’s International Manager and Performance Director, has known the world behind elite athletes for over two decades.

Rowing has been in Tanner’s life since he first held an oar at high school in Oxford as a thirteen year old. Tanner continued to row at university before coaching started to take over. ?I got the bug,? says Tanner. From that point there was no looking back. In a nation where rowing is dominated by private school programmes, Tanner began teaching and coaching at state school, Ealing Grammar.

Four years later, in 1975, Tanner was on his way to the World Junior Championships in Montreal with a men’s four. Dubbed the ?Ealing Four? the crew returned with silver. This Ealing Four, with just one change, continued on to medal at the Senior World Championships and peaked with bronze at the 1980 Moscow Olympic Games.

Although the Ealing Four disbanded, Tanner continued to coach elite crews through the 1980s. At this stage the British system relied solely on volunteers so Tanner fitted his rowing commitments around his role as high school headmaster.

In 1991 Tanner moved away from coaching and into team management through the Redgrave era that saw Britain’s Olympic medal count in rowing continue to grow. This prompted rowing to be elevated to one of four priority sports in Great Britain and with that secure funding through UK Sport. After the 1996 Olympics Tanner was hired as a full time international manager. Funding also extended to paying coaches and financial grants for athletes.

?We were now able to prepare the teams in a more professional way,? says Tanner. ?We still had the same athletes but they were better prepared.? This played out in the form of two golds and one silver medal at the 2000 Olympic Games ? the most successful medal haul ever for British rowing.

Under Tanner British rowing continues to develop with the beginning of talent identification. ?Since 2001 we have been targeting 14 to 15 year olds to bring them into rowing,? says Tanner. Talent ID coaches go to high schools and carry out physical tests to determine the rowing potential of students.

Support for athletes from doctors to physiotherapists to full time coaches has also improved with funding and training camps are organised throughout the year and throughout Europe. Catching Tanner in the summer season is like following a ping-pong ball as he travels between various training venues as well as international regatta sites.

But with more funding expectations have also increased and Tanner is currently dealing with a rash of media speculation over the potential for Britain’s rowing stars, Pinsent and Cracknell to compete in an event other than the pair, which they have dominated in recent years. A medal target for the 2004 Olympics of three has been set although Tanner shies away from naming their colour or the event.

Tanner’s style is very hands-on and he will leave shortly for Cyprus where the elite team is training. But Tanner’s next main task is to collect his award, the OBE, from Great Britain’s Queen Elizabeth. This will be presented to him at the royal palace in November. Unassuming Tanner says the honour is unusual in rowing and he was pleasantly surprised. ?It’s good for our sport and recognises the hard work others have done, ? says Tanner.