The Outstanding Achievements of La Mura

Dr. La Mura looks on.
© Photo by canottaggiovero.com 2003

If coaches received medals every time their crews won, Dr. Giuseppe La Mura would need an extra room in his house in Pompei, Italy. The Italian Rowing Federation's technical director, La Mura has just been honoured with FISA's Coach of the Year Award and his ability to get his crews on the winner's dais demonstrates the reason why.

If La Mura was to hang up all of these medals this is what the room would look like: One wall would be dedicated solely to World Championship medals and on it a veritable wallpaper of 28 gold medals, 21 silver and 21 bronze medals would hang. The next wall would be dedicated to Olympic medals and include two golds, two silvers and one bronze. Then one wall would be exclusively for La Mura's years as coach at Circolo Nautico Stabia from 1980 to 1992 when he collected 14 World Championship gold medals, two silver and two bronze medals as well as picking up and three Olympic golds. 

Finally, the fourth wall would be devoted to junior and under-23 rowing with a stack of medals yet to be counted. This is reality for a man described by his technical assistant, Antonio Alfine as ?charismatic, a highly cultured man that knows human nature very well.? He is seen as studious when it comes to his sport and absolutely dedicated. 

La Mura's interest in rowing began with the Circolo Nautico Stabia rowing club in Pompei and he describes being instantly ?bewitched? by the sport. Although medical studies cut La Mura's two-year rowing stint short he returned to the sport after graduation and was persuaded to coach by his friend. 

At this time Pompei was also the home of Italy's own rowing royal family, and La Mura's nephews, the Abbagnales. The first Olympic gold medal came La Mura's way in 1984 when he coached Carmine and Giuseppe Abbagnale to gold in the coxed pair. Four years later the pair won gold again in a race La Mura describes as the win he is most proud of. At the same Olympic Games in Seoul the third Abbagnale brother, Agostino added another gold to the family collection as part of Italy's winning quad. 

La Mura says he still looks back to Carmine and Giuseppe Abbagnale when he wants to demonstrate examples of good technique but also admires the East German crews from the 1970's and cites German single sculling great, Thomas Lange as the rower he most admires. 

It was not until 1993 that La Mura was hired as technical director of the Italian Rowing Federation and success continued for him and Italian rowing. Gold medals were picked up at both the Atlanta and Sydney Olympic Games.

Although coaches often take jobs in different countries, La Mura has always coached in Italy and the idea of going anywhere else has never crossed his mind. He can name many training venues that he enjoys around Italy and Europe but admits that Switzerland's Lucerne is his favourite racing venue. 

La Mura uses perception and intuition in his coaching style. ?I try to foresee an athlete's technical, physiological and psychological compatibility and their attitude to be trained,? says La Mura. 

In his career spanning more than two decades La Mura has noted a change in the attitude of athletes. ?I've seen passion growing and intensive training fear decreasing,? says La Mura whose favourite workout for athletes is endurance running and overloading exercises. 

The psychological side of training an athlete is important to La Mura. He saw the impact of nervous tension on the Italian athletes at this year's World Championships in front of their home crowd at Milan. ?More than one race was compromised because of nervous tension,? says La Mura of his crews. ?It reminded me of Australian team at the Sydney Olympics.?

On receiving the Coach of the Year award La Mura admitted, ?my happiness is mixed with surprise.? La Mura was nominated along with Canada's men's coach, Mike Spracklen and he admits that his admiration for Spracklen meant he did not expect to be selected.

If La Mura sustains this kind of success, his home will not only need more space for the medals, but it will also need structural reinforcement to support them all.