Over the weekend, St Andrew’s College rowing coach and ex-Rhodes University student Andrew Peebles tackled his first race in the 2013 Samsung Rowing World Cup regatta, under way in Sydney, Australia, this week.
Over the weekend, St Andrew’s College rowing coach and ex-Rhodes University student Andrew Peebles tackled his first race in the 2013 Samsung Rowing World Cup regatta, under way in Sydney, Australia, this week.
Peebles, a Zimbabwean-born rower, is representing Zimbabwe in the Men’s coxless pairs event with his elder brother Craig, a teacher in Zimbabwe.
Craig, in his spare time, is training for the 2016 Summer Olympics to be held in Rio de Janeiro.
The Samsung World Cup Rowing forms a part of the Sydney International Rowing Regatta (SIRR), which started on Monday and finishes on Sunday.
For the first time, the Regatta is a combination of the National Rowing Championships and the Samsung World Rowing Cup. Rowers are competing in a range of events, from sculling to full coxed eights boats.
The Peebles pair recently spent a week in a caravan on the campsite next to Roodeplaat dam in Pretoria, where they trained several times a day for their upcoming event. “We were getting close to 30 kilometres [of training]every day,” said Peebles.
According to Peebles, the selection criteria were extensive. “Zim rowing has been compiling a list of athletes based on ergometer scores, as well as judgements on previous and current racing results,” he said.
Australian organisers have provided sponsorship for four Zimbabwean athletes to travel to the World Cup, and the Peebles brothers are joined by Micheen Thornycroft (also an ex-Rhodes Student, who competed in the 2012 London Summer Olympics in the Women’s sculls event) and another Zimbabwean rower, Peter Purcell-Gilpen.
The Zimbabwean team faces fierce competition. Press Officer for the Sydney World Cup, Cora Zillich, said they expect entries from France, New Zealand, Australia, Great Britain, the US and China.
The Great Britain team have won seven of the nine World Cup events held in different countries over the past three years.
This is the first time Zimbabwe has made an appearance at the World Cup. Despite the British threat, Peebles remained positive ahead of the event.
The pair hopes to be able to finish the 2km course in seven minutes or less. “All our rate work is aimed at that. If we can get to seven, it would mean we are competitive,” said Peebles.
Though he expressed concern for the level of competition, saying that the pair had been training for only a few weeks, he was looking forward to the challenge and working toward “something great”.
“I was so chuffed that Zim was so organised and willing, and I’m keen to represent my family, Zim, and Rhodes,” he said earlier this month.
“I’ll definitely add a bit of purple to my outfit on race day.” The pair will compete in their first heats today at 6.10pm Sydney time.
Should the brothers make it through the heats, the final is on Sunday at 9.45am Sydney time.
