For one time and one time only: Mark Davies back in the coxing seat
British Rowing’s interim CEO teamed up with Presidents across European Rowing Federations to race through the heart of the Czech capital
The crew: Mark Davies, Jean-Christophe Rolland, Otto Cseh, Ondřej Snek, Dušan Macháček, Jiří Kejval, Henning Bay Neilsen, Erham Ertürk, Per Bjornskiold
When thinking of racing in Czechia, often Račice springs to mind. Back in 2022, Great Britain topped the medal topped the medal table winning seven golds and 12 medals overall so it’s no wonder that’s at the front of Brits’ memories when it comes to Czech rowing.
However, since 1910 the River Vltava has hosted the Mayor’s Rowing Races, welcoming the finest universities and clubs from across the country. Crowds line the banks of the river in a cross between Henley and the Boat Races as the city turns out to watch some spectacular racing over 2000m or 1000m.
To help raise the profile of the event and draw in international eyes, the Czech Rowing Federation, along with two-time Olympic silver medallist Ondřej Synek, pulled together a star-studded lineup. Coxed by British Rowing CEO Mark Davies, his first time back in the coxing seat ince the 1990s, and stroked by World Rowing President Jean-Christophe Rolland, the crew was packed full of experience and looking forward to racing in their masters category.
“We had eight different rowing styles which was interesting in itself and people aged from 59 down to 41,” explained Mark.
“We got together for a 40-minute outing the day before. At that point we decided we either needed a lot more outings or it wasn’t worth doing any other sessions at all so we went out and raced the following day!”
Pulling together a scratch crew and executing a race plan is challenging for the crew at the best of times but becomes even more complicated when English isn’t everyone’s first language.
Given that Jean-Christophe won Olympic gold in the men’s pair at the Sydney Olympics, the crew were very happy to follow his lead and rhythm in the stroke seat.
“He also does 20km every single morning on his ergo at 04:30 religiously to the point where I said to him ‘Since we’re racing today, do you get a morning off?’ He told me that he didn’t do mornings off,” said Mark laughing.
Mark continued, “As far as the race strategy went, we had a plan for the first 15 strokes and by that stage, the crew on our outside were a length and a half up on us so it didn’t really matter what we did after that!”
The trip served a bigger purpose though. For the crew, it presented a brilliant opportunity to connect in ways that aren’t possible at other events around the world. Nothing brings a group of people together like training and racing in a new environment.
“I think where it was interesting and very useful from my perspective and from British Rowing’s perspective, is that we don’t really get the chance to know each other very well and we’ll only really see each other at a World Championship or a European Championships or World Congress.
“You try and exchange pleasantries to the extent that you can but you don’t really get to know each other and spending a bit of time in the boat with them meant that I got to know these eight guys better than I have done over the course of seven years of being Chair of British Rowing and going to the events with them.
“You get a sense of camaraderie and rapport that you wouldn’t normally get, so from that perspective, it was great from a relationship-building point of view.”
