September 2024: Benjamin Pritchard

ROWER OF THE MONTH – Great Britain’s Benjamin Pritchard made his international debut back in 2019, winning World Rowing Cup bronze in his first race in the PR1 men’s single sculls. Since then, he has rarely missed a podium. At the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games Pritchard won gold and set a Paralympic best time in the heats that was only a second shy of the world best time. He is our Rower of the Month.

How did you get into rowing?

I had a cycling accident in 2016 and as part of my rehab at Stoke Mandeville Hospital, the birthplace of the Paralympics, they used to have a rowing session once a week just to make sure that we were staying aerobically fit. It was nothing too strenuous, it was like a 500m and a minute that we had to do.

When you’ve lost three-quarters of the function of your body, the last thing you want to be doing is getting on a rowing machine. I was feeling sorry for myself. One of my fellow patients in the hospital, a guy called John Cook – who was actually out in Paris watching the Games – he mentioned to me that there was a leaderboard behind the door of the physio’s office where they kept a note of everyone’s times.

That was a red rag to a bull. As soon as I knew there was a bit of competition in it my focus piqued and I started to go on it a little bit harder, did some extra training at the gym and really enjoyed it then. That was the start of the journey.

Then British Rowing came and did a taster event and I got invited to come down to Caversham, and try out for the team. Obviously I wasn’t very successful in my first year, but I stuck with the process and now I’ve got a gold medal around my neck.

What made you stick with rowing? Why do you enjoy it?

When I was newly injured I wasn’t ready to be disabled. Prior to my accident I didn’t know anyone with a physical disability. I wasn’t ready to be thrust into that world. It was taken out of my hands and I was put in this world where all of a sudden I needed to be in a wheelchair. The young 24-year-old macho man inside of me wasn’t ready for that.

The reason why rowing stuck compared to other sports was that I got out of my wheelchair. I got put in a boat and watched that wheelchair disappear. That was the hook. The competitive element was the start, that was what piqued my interest, but the hook was the freedom.

Now eight years on, I’m more comfortable with my disability and more comfortable with the world of disability and a big advocate for the Paralympic movement and the amazing things that people with disabilities can do. I’m a lot more comfortable being in my chair.

You learn to love it. It’s a sport that you do outdoors on a lake or a river with nature, come rain or shine. The scenery changes. You can row the same stretch of river thousands of times, but every time the scenery changes or there’s something new to look at. That’s what I like about an outdoor sport. That’s what I loved about cycling, going out in the lanes and listening to my rubber on the tarmac or the chain going round or the birds, the idyllic nature of it. Rowing is hard but I get to spend a lot of time in nature and my office changes daily, and that’s really cool.

What changed between Tokyo and Paris?

The difference between Tokyo and Paris was the whole process. Tokyo came as a whirlwind. I got selected in my first international world championships, which was also the qualification regatta. It was still relatively new, it was only my second international season that I was going to the Paralympics. I just got hit by the circus or the magic of going to it a little bit. That emotion was really hard to deal with.

I remember the heats day was very close to the anniversary of my accident. I remember being hit by a load of emotion, just going “Wow, four years go you were in a hospital bed, and now you’re here at the Paralympics”.

With that also comes the fact that I was relatively new to spinal cord injury. I was still getting adjusted to life in a chair, adjusted to all the little things that this wonderful disability gives you – bladder issues, bowel issues, skincare issues. I was still learning to deal with them and I was still relatively young in this new life I was living.

I came back from Tokyo and I started at the end. I read a book from my mate Dan Bigham and I applied my old cycling logic, reverse engineering it: this is what it’s going to take to win a medal, how do I get there, rather than me setting a goal. And working backwards: I need to be at this pace, how does that work on a month to month basis and then even on a day to day basis.

I had the whole three years to focus on it rather than such a short period of time. I set the project with my coaches and we worked together. It was a real collaborative effort. That’s the other thing that changed – my investment into training but also the buy back from the coaches I got with that. It wasn’t the carrot and the stick any more, it was definitely hand in hand. We learned to live and work together with mutual respect.

Eight years ago when I was in Stoke Mandeville I wrote in my diary that I wanted a gold medal in Paris 2024. That’s a big driving factor, when you’ve set yourself a goal, especially somebody with an athletic mindset. I remember working a lot with a psychologist because mentally I probably wasn’t ready for a gold medal.

I got to a point, a couple of weeks before we came out to Paris, where I was like “OK, I’m not ready to say I’m going to win gold, but I’m ready to say I’m going to be in the fight for it”, and that was a big mental change. Old Ben would never have said that, but the new Ben was “No, I’ve done everything I possibly can to get myself there. So if they want it, they’re going to have to come and fight for it”.

Did you know you were at record pace in the heats? How did you race the final?

A couple of the foreign team coaches asked me why I did a full track on Friday in the heats at the Games. That wasn’t a full track. It was interesting to see that people thought I was at the end of my limit. If you look at the gap that I got in the last 400 metres in the final, that’s a full track. I just knew that I had it, which was pretty cool. That was a really, really cool feeling, to race down the track, being composed and being in your boat. I had the choice to either continue my race plan and go full track or just to play safe, and I was like no, now is the time to go and race. That was a full performance and I really enjoyed it.

In the heats it was more emotional. I was on for a world record – I didn’t realise I was on for a world record – but I chose to enjoy the moment. I didn’t stop paddling but I took the pressure off, because as I was coming through the line, that crowd that we had in Paris, that was fantastic. So I just wanted to savour the moment because I knew in the final I didn’t want to be distracted by the crowds. In the heats, I chose to enjoy that moment and it still gives me goosebumps now. That’s something that will stay with me forever. I could have got a world record, but who cares, really? I’ve got a lifelong memory and I’ve still got the Paralympic record.

In the final I can’t remember crossing the line, but I remember celebrating and I’m not really a celebrator. In the final the job was done and I felt this massive weight off my shoulders. Just the sacrifices that everyone around me has put in: physios, coaches, nutritionists, psychologists, my wife, daughter, mum, dad, parents-in-law, family, brothers, all my friends that I’ve been neglecting. You have to make these choices to not see people, not go out.

All these things you’ve made a conscious choice of not doing, for that moment. When I crossed that line that pressure was off because it proves to all those people that believed in me, no matter how big or how small, what small part they had, those people had a part in that journey and this pressure valve came off. That is what I can remember, that I’ve done it for every one of those people.

Apart from winning, what’s your best memory of the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games?

I went to the Grand Palais to watch my friends compete in wheelchair fencing. I play a lot of video games with those boys, I hang out with them outside of work. Having the opportunity to go and be a fan, that was probably my highlight.

Paris put on such a show and every sporting venue I went to, it was unreal. But the Grand Palais stands out because it was such an iconic venue, and how close I got to the piste. I’ve never watched wheelchair fencing before, but I got so into it so quickly.

The impact that I felt from watching friends compete is really special. I was watching friends compete at the highest level in their sport. I’ll probably never get to watch that again, that close, because schedules never align. I very rarely get time to watch them do their sport.

What makes the British para-rowing squad so successful?

No-one trains like we train. One of the successes to British Rowing as a whole is that we’re fully integrated. Paras train alongside able-bodied athletes, and we’re a big team. Ultimately we’re invested in each other’s performances. That is what makes British Rowing so successful.

Then if you look at the para-squad it’s so intimate, there’s only 10 athletes, you get to know everyone, their personal lives, everything. It’s very blurred lines between where work starts and friendship starts, it’s really difficult. But on the other side, it’s incredible. Because I row a single it could be a very lonely place to be, but I’ve never felt like I’m in a single, I’ve always felt like I’ve got nine other people cheering me on, plus the staff.

Where’s your favourite place to row?

Swansea, because I don’t get to do it often, and it’s the first place I rowed. It’s not the biggest stretch, it’s not the most idyllic stretch, but it takes me back to the days I first started rowing.

In terms of the idyllic place, I’d have to say in the heats in Linz. The sun was rising, and I’ve got a great photo. So either Linz in 2019 or Varese’s like a second home to me. But my favourite place to go and row is Swansea because I don’t get to go and do it. My home river, I never get to row on, so it’s a special treat.

What’s your favourite session (on land or water)?

On the ergo I like a 2k. I like the fact that you pick up the handle and it’s you against the clock. No matter what the amount of shouting or who’s behind you in your corner, it’s you against the clock. That’s the closest I get to time-trialling. My old sport, cycling, that was me versus the clock. You can do a 2k and you know exactly where you are.

On the water we do a session which is basically 14k aerobic, but I know my 10k PB, I know my 12k PB and I know my 14k PB, so I always try and beat my 10k PB in a 14k session. It goes back to that time-trialling mentality, I like knowing where I am in terms of fitness. But I do like those sessions where you can just switch off and go and row.

What’s the best piece of advice you’ve been given?

Trust the process. There are times where, even if you look at my last three years, last year, qualification, I had 12 weeks of training but I still got a medal. Trust the process, trust the people around you and ultimately you’ll get there. Sometimes it’s very scary to let everything out, let yourself be vulnerable.

My other one is from my first ever coach, Andrew Williams. Race hard, no excuses. Once you cross the line, it’s fun. It doesn’t matter then. No matter what you do when you cross that line, you’re done.

That’s stuck with me for a long time, because in the early days when I wasn’t making great decisions in races and I wasn’t getting selected for the para-squad, I’d always come away being really frustrated. Andrew was like “You’ve crossed the line, it’s done, time to move on”. That’s stuck with me for a long time.