“By God boys, you’ve done us proud, you really have!” the commentator exclaimed, as Ben Hunt-Davis and his crew crossed the finish line with a time of 5min 33.08sec to win gold at the 2000 Sydney Olympics. 88 years after Great Britain’s last victory in the rowing men’s eights category at the Games, this tumultuous repeat performance resulted in the team being hailed as the greatest boat of eight to ever take to the water.
However, Hunt-Davis’ rise to success was not simply plain sailing. For seven of the nine years competing for Team GB, he did not achieve a single win. “I was surrounded by people who were winning,” he admits. “There were maybe a quarter of the team who’d got medals at World Championships or Olympic Games, and I was desperate to achieve what they were achieving, like Steve [Redgrave] and Matt [Pinsent]. They were just loads better than me, so comparing myself to them wasn’t great, but there were a lot of people who I would compare myself to who were physically more similar to me and were able to win.”
However, the real low-point came in the Atlanta Olympics, when the boat lost out to the Russians by just three feet. Hunt-Davis described himself afterwards as “absolutely devastated,” explaining that he was “exhausted for a couple of months, and that didn’t have much to do with the physical aspect, just the emotional.” But when asked if all the pain, intense training, early mornings, aching shoulders and gruelling elements that the sport is famed for was worth it in the end, he instantly replied: “without a shadow of a doubt. Every single second of it was worthwhile,” as winning gold was “literally a dream come true.”
However, as many of us will remember, Sydney was the year of rowing triumph, with Redgrave achieving his fifth and Pinsent gaining his third gold medal in the sport. Yet Hunt-Davis didn’t feel that his Olympic victory was in any way overshadowed by the world-famous pair; in fact, he crowned Steve as his ultimate sporting hero.
“They were, without a shadow of a doubt, the important story. When journalists did come and talk to us we would point out where Redgrave was and head off in the other direction! We weren’t interested in any media. We had enough pressure from ourselves and every bit of publicity and media those guys got, they deserved – we didn’t. We wanted to win for us, not to get media attention and we achieved everything we wanted to achieve.”
As well as being the Chairman of the 2011 World Rowing Junior Championships, Hunt-Davis has spent two years working for the British Olympic Association as the head of Athlete Engagement. This involves running education programmes that ensure both athletes and support staff are ready to perform at the London 2012 Olympics. After having worked so closely with young athletes, and having years of experience himself, Hunt-Davis explained how it was incredibly important for budding sportsmen and women to enjoy the process of training to be professional athletes, and added that, for those looking for careers in this particular field, it was essential to be constantly learning and developing. After putting himself through rigorous daily training sessions, he emphasised: “you will have to work hard – it’s just a given. You’ve got to be willing to challenge what’s happening so you can improve. I think that’s key.”
The beginning of his own rowing life started at the age of 13, but at the time he actually didn’t make the school crew for his age group. Casting his mind back, Hunt-Davis confessed that he only chose the sport because he was “useless” at cricket and absolutely hated it. “I was really uncoordinated and just rubbish, absolute rubbish! I didn’t know anything about rowing, but I knew it didn’t involve a bat and ball!”
Thoughts of becoming a professional oarsman began to occur at the age of 16, when a number of his rowing team-mates put themselves forward for national trials. “I knew I wanted to. I didn’t spend that much time thinking about the Olympics [but] I thought I could row for Great Britain because there were guys I knew who were doing it.”
When asked what he’s most looking forward to about the London 2012 Games, Hunt-Davis replied: “the results! I think we’ve got a very good and well deserved reputation for putting on good events and when the stadia are ready they will look fantastic. Team GB could perform phenomenally well and we could get a lot of medals. The support from the spectators, the atmosphere around the whole thing – it should be brilliant.”