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Old Borlasians
Rob’s success at Eton Dorney.
From Borlase to the Olympics.
I was a late arrival at Sir William Borlase, turning up in the
autumn of 2001with the sixth form intake. The competitive
environment that Borlase fostered amongst students
wasn’t lost on me and my new found circle of friends. The
simple act of beating each other, whether it be in cross
country or percentage achieved in biology A-level, gave us
enough motivation to push ourselves, often beyond what
each of us would, individually, have expected to achieve.
That experience certainly built on my naturally
competitive instinct. At university I quickly embraced
my Biotechnology course at UCL and the plentiful social
aspects of my fresher year. In my second year I joined
London Rowing Club, deciding to take the sport which I’d
started at 16, and try and move my achievement in it on to
the next level. I›d train a bit harder, try to climb the club
ranking, and see how the seasons panned out.
Fast forward a couple of years – I was still enjoying all
aspects of university and still interested in Biotechnology
so I decided that I’d hop from my undergrad course to a
PhD. Simultaneously, rowing was going pretty well, and
the GB selectors decided I›d done enough to represent
GB as an under 23. Unfortunately, I had to turn down my
first opportunity at an international race as it fell on the
weekend in themiddle of my undergrad finals. Fortunately,
GB rowingmanagement didn’t take umbrage, and selected
me to go to the 2006 U23 World Championships.
Things stepped up a notch a couple of months later when I
started my PhD at the Institute of Structural and Molecular
Biology at Birkbeck / UCL. My PhD was essentially a
precursor to early stage drug research, working out the
atomic structure of part of the pathogenic machinery of
gram negative bacteria. At the same time I’d allegedly
become a“full time athlete”in the GB senior rowing squad.
A typical day of GB rowing training could easily entail a
20K outing, weights and an 18K ergo. Throwing in a
commute from my flat in central London to Caversham,
and a full time PhD (with the medical research council
pressing for results) meant that time management was
reasonably challenging. Thankfully, whilst rowing was
physically tough, it wasn’t too stressful mentally, so I was
relatively fresh for the lab work each day. I was hugely
helped through this period by a supportive supervisor and
university, especially when I was off on training camps for
2-3 months of the year doing no work.
Interim sporting highlights of this period were being the
lightweight substitute for the 2008 Beijing Olympics (an
unbelievable experience) and the 2010 season. In 2010 our
crew won the World Cup series with a silver and two golds
in the lightweight four. The season was topped off by our
becoming World Champions in the lightweight four. We
won the World Championship final in New Zealand by
0.07 seconds, beating the Australians into second (as Brit
rowers there is no nation we’d rather beat).
Hop forward to 2012. Research work all finished, write
up done, viva scheduled (then rescheduled, then
rescheduled) and finally in April I was awarded my PhD. At
the same time I was officially announced as part of Team
GB for London 2012. After an amazing kit day (I think 60kgs
of luggage, comprised of sports kit and several suits) and
a lot of physical and mental preparations we arrived at
Dorney for the Olympics.
The atmosphere during the Olympics at Dorney was
incredible. Amazing, – even during training sessions,
on non-race days at the course, we were surrounded by
Olympic motifs in front of a cheering crowd. It was an
experience I’ll never forget.
The mental aspect of performing at an Olympics, let alone
a home one, is hugely important and coping strategies
are very specific to you, the individual. Personally I tried
to avoid thinking we were part of ‘the Olympics’ until we’d
finished. I watched some of the rowing of course, seeing
Helen and Heather win the pair in spectacular fashion
simply made me feel sick to think it was our turn the next
day.
It’s incredibly hard to convey the feeling of racing in the
final of a home Olympics. The success or failure of the
last four years ultimately comes down to one moment in
time, there are no second chances. I knew it was unlikely
I’d carry on for another cycle and obviously I’d definitely
never experience another home games. I’d either become
an Olympic medallist or I wouldn’t. The race itself was very,
very painful and extraordinarily loud. Coming second
by a foot wasn’t the plan. Initially we were devastated.
However, after a few minutes, having 30,000 people
cheering for you and getting that Olympic silver medal
cheers you up somewhat. I think it’s fair to say I’ve never
forgotten nor will ever forget that feeling, and won’t ever
be able to experience it again.
Since then I have entered the working world and am now
a forward FX trader for Goldman Sachs, which is a totally
different challenge and different story. For now, though,
the experiences of London 2012 are still very fresh in my
mind.
Rob Williams (2001-03)
