Adrien Hardy’s new challenge

For rowing fans, Adrien Hardy is known as a very successful rower. When he paired up with Sébastien Vieilledent in the double scull, everyone agreed that this was one of the most aesthetic boats in the world, without even taking into consideration their World Championship titles in Milan in 2003 or their Olympic gold in 2004.

In 2006, Hardy took gold on the future Olympic regatta course in Eton, Great Britain, at the World Rowing Championships and in the double with him was his new crew mate, Jean-Baptiste Macquet. Macquet strived to copy him stroke for stroke.

But all this came to an end, at least for sculling. At the age of 32, for the first time in his career, Hardy lines up in a sweep boat (rowing with one oar) at Lake Karapiro. This is a huge shift for someone who has rowed his entire career with an oar in each hand.

Hardy started to fancy sweep rowing following his disappointing fifth place at the Olympic Games in Beijing in 2008. He decided to go into the European Rowing Championships in Schinias, Greece in an eight (2008).

“At first, I didn’t think that sweep rowing was for me, but I really enjoyed rowing that eight.“ And all the more as the French boat, made up of many Olympic or World Champion medallists, won and took the European title.

Hardy, however, then went back to sculling and finished fifth in Poznan at the 2009 World Rowing Championships in the men’s quadruple sculls. For someone so used to the medal dais, this was another great disappointment, and his future in sculling no longer looked bright.

“I didn’t feel involved in my federation’s plans for the sculling team,” says Hardy. “I was getting demotivated. Either I stopped, or I needed to take up sweep rowing.”

And so it was, despite the fact that the plan didn’t quite meet his expectations, his wish had been to put together an eight made up of France’s top talents, something the French federation had not often done. Despite the lack of support, Hardy gave the men’s eight a try.

PHOTO:IGOR MEIJER" border="0" height="210" src="/display/modules/media/cropimage.php?mediaid=362483&x0=0&y0=0&x1=315&y1=210&zoom=0.7000000000000001" _cke_saved_src="/display/modules/media/cropimage.php?mediaid=362483&x0=0&y0=0&x1=315&y1=210&zoom=0.7000000000000001" title="Igor Meijer" width="315" />After several trials, injuries and instability, Hardy was eventually paired up with 25 year-old Sébastien Lente, 2008 World silver medallist in the coxed pair and European Champion in the eight. Their success on the Rowing World Cup circuit was not great (13th place in Bled and 19th place in Lucerne), but the fourth place at the European Championships was encouraging.

Hardy will start Monday with Lente in the men’s pair with mixed feelings. "If we make it in the top six I’ll consider that we have performed well," Hardy says. In any case, this will be a step towards the London Olympics where Hardy intends to compete in his fourth, and probably last Olympic Games, in a sweep boat, and, who knows, why not in an eight?