Pretoria - The departure of two Olympic medallists and stalwarts of South African rowing will see some new faces make their appearance in the next few years as national coach Roger Barrow rebuilds his squad.
London Olympic gold medallist James Thompson and Shaun Keeling, who won silver at Rio 2016, have hung up their oars, ending their illustrious careers.
But, following the successes at two consecutive Olympic Games, Barrow is stepping up the efforts to ensure success at Tokyo 2020.
The Rio Olympic Games were a bittersweet experience for the rowing team - all five boats made it into finals, but with only the men’s pair crew of Keeling (pictured) and Lawrence Brittain winning a (silver) medal.
Barrow, who won the prestigious World Rowing Coach of the Year Award, said their performances at the last two Olympics validated the belief they had in the programme.
“A lot of us initially felt that in 2012 that gold medal might have been a fluke ... but it was an awesome result, and we're now backing ourselves to do it again,” Barrow said from his base at TuksSport.
“I think we’ve seen now between 2012 and 2016 that we can compete and can be world-beaters, so now it is about making sure the puzzle fits and making sure we are looking after the athletes.”
Keeling and Lawrence Brittain’s men’s pair medal was a silver lining around a dark Olympic cloud as the other four finals turned into a nightmare as each boat, from the men’s and women’s doubles sculls to the men’s four narrowly missed out on podium places.
The men’s and women’s lightweight double sculls crews finished in fourth and fifth place respectively while the men’s four and the women’s pair suffered similar fates.
Although Barrow was delighted with the depth they had produced going into Rio, he reiterated the focus over the next few years would be to produce the goods in Tokyo.
“The Olympics were so disappointing, even though we had a built a great base going into Rio and everyone was chuffed. Then we got all these fourths and fifths which sucked.
“We need to make sure we are knocking on medals. I’d rather take one boat and make sure it brings back a medal than taking five boats and coming fourth.
“I’m probably changing my tune a bit but I was hoping all five boats would bring back medals. But they didn’t; that is the reality of it. I need to make sure we build the base but quality and performance will be key.”
A new crop of exciting talent has come to the fore over the last year or so, which includes Nicole van Wyk, who became the first South African woman to win a medal at the 2016 Under-23 World Championships (the lightweight single sculls silver).
With London 2012 gold medallist John Smith moving up a class to join the heavyweight rowers, and the retirement of Thompson, a new men’s lightweight double sculls crew could be making its appearance in the next few years.
Nicholas Oberholzer and Vaughn Botes have shown early potential, finishing fourth at last year’s Under-23 World Championships in the men’s lightweight double sculls.
While there is huge potential in most of the boat classes, Barrow said they would not rush any combinations over the next year.
“In our last Olympic cycle we might have partnered some people too early; now we will play around more with the individuals being better still four years out from the Olympics,” Barrow said.
“It is not about making boats now; it is about making the individuals very fast.
“Do we want to be World Champions in 2017? Of course we do but do we want to be Olympic champions in 2020? That is the prime goal and we are a small nation and we don’t want to put pressure on ourselves too early.”