The Standard

26 The Standard September 28 to October 4 2014
Sport
My toughest decision ever — Grainger
By September 23 2014 — the deadline
enforced by GB Rowing if she wanted to
attempt to qualify for Rio 2016 — the
38-year-old had made up her mind, and
reported for training
When Katherine Grainger
and Anna Watkins crossed
the line to win gold at London
2012, it provided one of the fairytale
stories of the Games.
The eternal bridesmaid with silver
medals at each of the previous
three Olympics, Grainger had finally
hit the jackpot.
She had finished what she started
15 years before. She was an
Olympic champion.
So it was not entirely surprising
that she took a break from the
sport, using the time to finish her
PhD in homicide, write a book, attend
lavish awards ceremonies,
take a holiday, and pursue a career
as a presenter and analyst with
BBC television.
But during those two years away
from rowing, the nagging question
of whether she should return to the
sport remained. Did she have the
desire to try to do it all over again
or was she happy with life after
rowing?
By Tuesday, September 23 2014 —
the deadline enforced by GB Rowing
if she wanted to attempt to
qualify for Rio 2016 — the 38-yearold
had made up her mind — and
reported for training.
When was a comeback on the
cards?
Last year, Grainger said she felt
she and Watkins could go faster but
the Glaswegian continued to keep
her cards close to her chest with regards
to her plans for the future.
That decision was made harder,
though, when in January Watkins
said she would not compete at Rio
and defend her title following the
birth of her first child.
“If Anna was back in a boat, it
would have been an easy decision
to make,” Grainger told BBC Sport,
just moments after completing her
first session in a single scull boat
for more than two years at the GB
Rowing hQ at Caversham.
“I’ve agonised over this decision
for a very long time. There was no
one moment of ‘eureka’.
“Some days, I would be driving
and suddenly I would think ‘That’s
me done, I’m never going to do rowing
again. I’m ready for retirement.
I’m prepared to walk away’.
“Then 48 hours later, I’d be doing
something else and suddenly think
‘I want to go back, I can’t imagine
why I wouldn’t’.”
Then a year ago, she was involved
in a women’s eight, made
up of Watkins and GB Olympians
from the 1992, 1996, 2000 and 2004
Games, most of whom had retired.
Once a week, she would head out
on the water again. “It was the only
thing I did rowing-wise,” she said.
“And it captured my love for it all
over again.
“It reminded me how lovely it is
being with fellow rowers and how
at a basic level, taking away the excitement
of competing at an Olympics,
rowing is a fantastic sport to
be part of.”
Watching her former team-mates
compete in the World Championships
in Amsterdam last month,
where Grainger worked as an analyst
for the BBC’s coverage, proved
to be a key factor, too.
She explained: “It made me realise
what I was missing and that
there was a hunger. There were
some questions I couldn’t answer
until I was back in a boat, which is
why I am doing this.”
What are the risks, fears and
challenges of a return?
Grainger has won a medal at
each of the last four Olympics.
That is an impressive record by any
standards — and one that could be
tainted if a comeback does not succeed.
“I know how hard it is, this is
not the easy option,” said Grainger.
Watkins (left) told Grainger (right) in January she would not defend their Olympic title after the birth of her son
“This is probably the toughest
thing I’ve had to do in my career
— to have a break and then come
back.
“I still have the same expectations
I always had and that’s hard
to live up to any day, never mind
trying to do it after two years away.
“There are risks — my health, my
career, my well-being, my reputation,
to name a few. But I have talked
to a lot of people. They haven’t necessarily
given me advice but rather
their opinion. That way, I was able to
make my mind up with plenty of information
in front of me.”
Among those she consulted was
five-time Olympic champion Sir
Steve Redgrave, Olympic champion
Greg Searle — who spent a decade
away from the sport before returning
aged 38 to win bronze two years
later in the men’s eight at London
2012 — Watkins and former crewmate
Cath Bishop.
“They understood my dilemma,”
she said. “And those conversations
proved invaluable.”
Why did you come back?
Life in the two years away was
good for Grainger. She was forging
a career in television by working
on the BBC’s rowing and Commonwealth
Games coverage.
In between that were opportunities
to be a guest at celebrity events,
write a book, pick up an honorary
doctorate and just lead a normal
life.
“There’s a side to me which
doesn’t understand why I want to
come back, but there is an instinct
that I do want it, and ultimately I
followed that,” she said.
“I’ll know very quickly if it isn’t
for me. But if I never take those
first few steps, I’ll always wonder
‘What if ?’ To me that is harder than
actually giving it a go.”
GB Rowing has welcomed
Grainger back to the team at a
time when the women’s side of the
squad is struggling. At the recent
World Championships they won
just one gold medal through helen
Glover and heather Stanning, compared
to the record-breaking three
at London 2012.
Grainger explained: “I had a chat
with David [Tanner, GB performance
director] and he said he was
looking forward to it.
“They are all aware of the challenge
I will present and everyone
is supportive of that — that’s a big
thing for me.”
What are the boat options and
what is the goal?
Realistically, Grainger has three
boat combinations where she could
slot in — the single, the quad and
the double, in which she raced to
victory in London. The single is arguably
the toughest and most competitive
boat class and although
it would give Grainger more freedom
in her training programme,
it would be a tough challenge to
take on just two years out from Rio,
when she will be 40.
The quad is a boat in which
Grainger has twice achieved Olympic
silver, but that second defeat, in
Beijing, was tough to take as they
were overhauled on the line by China.
So, the boat brings with it some
difficult memories.
The double is one that two-time
Olympic champion James Cracknell
believes she will be perfect for
if GB rowing chiefs are able to find
a crew-mate to make a strong combination.
“I have a lot of work to do,” said
Grainger. “I have to get myself
back to where I expect to be. Only
then can I start asking who I want
to row with because until I prove
myself, no one is going to want to
row with me.”
The first glimpse of her progress
will come on november 16 at the
first GB winter trial of the season.
“I’m not really making long-term
plans,” she said. “A lot has to go well
and fall into place. I have to get my
fitness back, get my boat feel back
and make sure I’m mentally where
I want to be.
“The end point would be going all
the way through to Rio, but I’m not
making a commitment to that one
just yet.”
— BBCSport
Mourinho, Pellegrini:
The latest great rivalry?
MAnCheSTeR City’s meeting
with Chelsea at etihad Stadium was
a collision of the Premier League’s
two current superpowers.
The game ended with honours
even between the two teams likely to
be contesting the title when it reaches
its decisive stage, and the 1-1 draw
gave both City manager Manuel Pellegrini
and Chelsea’s Jose Mourinho
an indication as to how their
seasons may unfold.
Chelsea stay five points ahead of
City and three points clear of second-placed
Southampton — so what
are the sub-plots that will accompany
their fight for the title?
The new Fergie v Wenger?
Manchester City and Chelsea
have the look of two clubs who will
dominate the Premier League title
race — and who will have a managerial
rivalry to go along with it.
Sir Alex Ferguson’s relationship
with Arsenal manager Arsene
Wenger in the “Pizzagate” years —
which began when Ferguson was
struck by flying foodstuffs hurled
from Arsenal’s dressing room in
Manchester City manager Manuel Pellegrini (left) and Chelsea’s Jose Mourinho
2004 — only truly thawed once the
Gunners were no longer deemed a
serious threat to Manchester United’s
supremacy.
And when Liverpool briefly
emerged as a possible danger to
United, what had started as a cordial
relationship between Ferguson
and Rafael Benitez degenerated
swiftly, culminating in a famous
monologue from the Spaniard bemoaning
the Scot’s influence over
officials and the game in general.
Do we have the natural succession
in the barely-concealed contempt
between Manchester City’s
Pellegrini and his Chelsea counterpart
Mourinho?
The relationship was already fractured
from the days when Mourinho
succeeded Pellegrini at Real Madrid
and appeared to scoff at the fact that
the Chilean then went to Malaga to
rebuild the next phase of an excellent
coaching career.
And judging by their antics after
Sunday’s draw at etihad Stadium, it
is likely the pair will provide a running
sub-plot to this season’s Premier
League title battle.
It was behaviour that did little
credit to either man, who should
have far more pressing issues to attend
to as the season progresses.
Mourinho performed his usual
trick of getting the City’s manager’s
name wrong with references to
“Pellegrino”, while Pellegrini delivered
a nonsensical barb about Chelsea
playing like “a small team” — reviving
memories of a Benitez insult
aimed at everton after a goalless
Merseyside derby at Anfield.
The mischief of Mourinho is long
in the making and is, according to
his detractors, well-practised, but
Pellegrini’s reputation is that of the
measured, quiet man.
Appearances can be deceptive,
as those present when he lambasted
the officials after last season’s
Champions League loss at home
to Barcelona, and after the recent
draw at Arsenal, will testify.
It is clear the Portuguese can
get under his skin and you suspect
Chelsea’s manager may take the opportunity
to indulge himself further
should the stresses of the title
race increase.
Lampard does Premier League a
favour?
Frank Lampard’s goal for Manchester
City against the club he
served with such distinction prevented
Chelsea from opening up an
eight-point gap over the Premier
League champions, who are regarded
as the team that will run them
closest this season.
The advantage may not have been
a deal breaker in title terms but
would certainly have established an
imposing lead with arguably Chelsea’s
toughest league fixture of the
season out of the way,
The Stamford Bridge club have
still made an outstanding start, despite
losing their 100% league record,
and hold a three-point lead
over Southampton.
City are only five points behind
and the suspicion remains that
there is so much more to come from
Pellegrini’s team, who also showed
great spirit and resilience to come
back from a goal behind following
Pablo Zabaleta’s sending-off.
As for Lampard, what a moment
it was for the 36-year-old, who attained
legendary status at Chelsea
after becoming their all-time record
scorer with 211 goals in 648 appearances
before leaving and securing a
move to new York City FC.
The former england midfielder
is on loan at City until January
and demonstrated that plenty of his
footballing faculties remain intact
as he punished Chelsea for failing
to track him into the area with five
minutes left, a volley expertly slid
beyond Thibaut Courtois providing
the evidence.
— BBCSport