Olympics: Grobler is Gambling With Gold

Jürgen Grobler is the man who may have sold British rowing down the river. But at least he managed to dredge up a watery smile yesterday as he gazed out upon the turquoise beauty of Lake Aiguebelette in the Savoy region of southern France.

The British rowing squad, those redoubtable miners of minerals at Olympic Games, were coming to the end of one of their last training sessions before Athens. Soon it will be time to assess the wisdom of their chief coach's most controversial decision - and he is grimly aware that the jury is currently out on the fabled wisdom of foreign coaches in British sport.

As the upturned, dripping boats emerged from the water, resembling an invasion of huge Gallic beetles, Grobler reflected on his career-defining resolution to scrap the high-profile pairing of Matthew Pinsent and James Cracknell, dropping them into the coxless four and cutting adrift Rick Dunn and Toby Garbett, who had spent three years working to defend the gold won by Steve Redgrave's team. They were given the pair's boat.

"It was the most difficult decision I've ever made," he said, aware that he was tampering not only with his oarsmen but with the British public's rapacious interest in rowing, which surfaces at least every four years. When it comes to Olympic glory with a golden patina in Athens it is difficult to look beyond puffing Paula on the track and muscular Matthew on the water. In the past 20 years the rowers have been the most consistent members of the team.

Pinsent and Cracknell, who won the coxless fours so sensationally in Sydney, alongside Redgrave and Tim Foster, have been returned to the big boat even though, up until last year, they had looked certainties for the pairs gold in Greece. In 2001 they won the coxed and coxless pairs in the world championships, a unique double, and beat the world record to win gold the following year. But defeat by the Australians last year saw Grobler's confidence falter.

"I had to ask myself what was our best possible chance of winning gold," he said a little defensively. "There was no doubt that in all the tests throughout the year Matthew and James were our best athletes. But even with the great success they had, and they set record times, I always felt I knew their limitations. And I've worked with Matthew for 14 years and with James for a long time also.

"I just felt they were not quite a very natural pairing in rough conditions. Then, they were a little bit disjointed. There was a worry, technically, how they would cope. But the four boat is bigger and more stable and better suited for them to use their power and strength to the maximum." His fist was clenched and his eyes were earnest, like a politician with a doubtful policy.

The big worry is that the new four of Pinsent, looking for his fourth gold, Cracknell, who is after his second, Steve Williams and Ed Coode have been working together only since July 3. That was the day the remarkable Maria Sharapova won Wimbledon.

When the single-minded former East German Grobler, who has been unearthing Olympic gold since 1972, made his momentous decision early this year, the new four were Pinsent, Cracknell, Williams and Josh West. But when Williams and West failed to impress in a pairs trial, West made way for Alex Partridge. When Partridge suffered a collapsed lung a few weeks ago Coode was brought in.

"It's going to be very tough in Athens," Grobler warned. "In the fours we have the Canadians and Germans, with the Slovakians and maybe the Americans again. What I wanted to do was not strengthen the old four but to build a new one around Matthew and James. But it has been difficult because there has been a domino effect through the other teams."

Grobler also thinks the men's eight will be competitive, as well as three of the women's boats, especially the pair. One thing is certain: just as the England rugby team discovered that life after Martin Johnson was less than straightforward, so British rowing is coming to terms with the fact that Sir Steve Redgrave may have been even better than everyone thought.

Redgrave, the greatest of all British Olympians, appeared lakeside here on Tuesday. He went out on the water with all six boats and afterwards spoke to the competitors about his experiences. It was not only the young athletes who looked on with awe.

Grobler explained: "Technically and physically, Steve Redgrave was the race leader. He could change a race. Matt is one of the world's strongest athletes but he needs leadership and James could not always give that.

"These are important games for Matt because these will be his last Olympics. But everyone looked good today. When we leave here on Tuesday we will be fully prepared, physically and mentally, to race the following day. All we have to do now is some speed work and some cosmetic work."

But no cosmetic has been developed to remove the egg from Grobler's face if the biggest gamble of his illustrious life does not come off this month.

How the British boat was rocked

September 2003 James Cracknell and Matthew Pinsent fail to win a medal in the world championships in Milan and Jürgen Grobler suggests the pair switch to the four.

February 2004 Grobler splits his four to accommodate Cracknell and Pinsent. Britain's two reigning Olympic champions are told that they must concentrate on developing the new four in time for Athens. The two partners for Pinsent and Cracknell, Steve Williams and Josh West, are favoured over Rick Dunn and Toby Garbett.

March 2004 Dunn, stroke of Britain's world championship gold-medal winning four, is dropped from the team for the Olympics. 'Every time I saw the four out, it was like watching your best mate in bed with your girlfriend,' he says.

April 2004 Pinsent and Cracknell's new prospective partners are soundly beaten in the pairs trials in Belgium. The unheralded Andy Hodge and Alex Partridge win while Williams and West manage only fifth place in the final.

May 2004 Grobler makes a crew change for a World Cup regatta in Munich. Cracknell, who has recovered from a rib injury, returns to the four at the expense of his replacement Ed Coode, who in an elaborate game of musical chairs has now been given a seat in the eight.