Russia's renewed vigour - the men's eight

It is safe to say the Russian men’s eight is going through a revival. This revival has been helped by new coach, Mike Spracklen. At the age of 77, the Olympic-gold winning coach is one of the most experienced in the field and reputed for his toughness.

World Rowing talked to members of the Russian men’s eight – Anton Zarutskiy (bow), Nikita Morgachev (6 seat), Dmitry Kuznetsov (2 seat) and Artem Kosov (3 seat) during the World Rowing Cup in Lucerne about rowing in Russia and the development of the eight.

The Russian rowing structure has undergone a number of changes. Since the end of the Soviet Union in 1992, the structure has completely changed. “I started rowing at age nine,” Zarustkiy explains. So did Kuznetsov, while Morgachev picked up his first oar at age 14. Although ages vary, 9-10 years is the norm for athletes rowing at the national team level.

This introduction to rowing takes place not in clubs, but in school-based educational centres that provide extra-curricular activities for Russian youth. These centres are few and mostly limited to larger cities with more resources. The pool of athletes is comparatively small. From over 5,000 rowers in Moscow in the 1980s, supported by 150 professional trainers, numbers fell to 250 rowers and 17 coaches in 1992. Now there are over 700 rowers registered and numbers are growing.

Selection for the national team begins with a regatta at which the best rowers are selected to go to the training centre. At this regatta, rowers are not affiliated with clubs, but identified according to their home regions. For the men’s eight an initial regatta had identified 13 rowers for a training camp. “We train in all types of boats, even singles,” says Zarutskiy.

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With the arrival of Spracklen there is a new coaching style. “There has been a rebranding of sorts,” says Zarutskiy, “with new boats, new programme, a new base, a new coach, new blade colours. It is very unusual in our sport and very exciting to be part of this change. Mike tries to create this very good training environment for every single athlete.”

Spracklen and the crew have permanently moved to Erba in Lombardy, Italy, where their training center is now located. The men’s eight trains separately from the other crews, enjoying optimal weather conditions. A few weeks ago they were joined by the Russian women’s eight. Not limited by the harsh Russian winters, the crew keeps a similar training programme all year long, divided between training in the eight, in small boats and on the ergometres.

Kuznetsov explains, “The direction of the training changes a bit. The pieces will change in the middle of the winter, with longer pieces on the ergo and on the water.” “We are on the water all year round,” adds Zarustkiy.

The crew is encouraged by their 2014 results, “We have had a good beginning to the season compared to past disastrous seasons and we are satisfied with our results so far. But we know this is just the beginning. We hope to get better results in the future,” says Zarustkiy.

“We have a great respect for all the teams competing here. We feel it is an honour to compete with teams such as Great Britain and Germany at such a high level.  We want to show our best and hope we can do it,” says Zarutskiy.

Copy thanks to Catherine Ador