BRITISH ROWING IN THE OLYMPICS he had rowed in the Boat Race five times, winning in his last two, and ending Cambridge’s during the domination Fairbairn/ Nickalls & Mallam stockbroker,1001 Nickalls Stroke +3°, +45° to -35°, 0-10, 0-10, 5-10 Classical Technique, concurrent Schubschlag late arm draw were held straight until well into the second half of the pullthrough, and back, legs and arms finished simultaneously. Force application was Schubschlag. Guy Nickalls is well remembered for chanting, “A hard catch makes a boat light, and a hard finish gives it run.”998 In 1889, upon his being honored with a portrait by “Spy,”999 Vanity Fair described him as follows: “He is the best of friends, and a man with whom, for other reasons, no one would care to quarrel. But he is not fond of rowing, and is likely soon to retire upon his laurels.”1000 It didn’t happen. By the time Nickalls had finished his studies at Oxford in 1891, 998 Qtd. by Mendenhall, Harvard-Yale, p. 290 999 See Chapter 15. 1000 Vanity Fair, July 20, 1889 Muttlebury era. He had already won the Grand Challenge Cup once, the Wingfield Sculls twice, beating, among others, Steve Fairbairn in 1886, and the Silver Goblets and Diamond Sculls three times each! Guy Nickalls was the greatest oarsman of his era. Taking up the trade of Guy continued to row for six more years at Leander Club, Magdalen College and London Rowing Club. The result was two more wins in the Grand Challenge Cup, two more in the Diamond Sculls and four each in the Silver Goblets for pairs and Stewards’ Challenge Cup for fours. He finally retired . . . for the first time . . . upon his marriage in 1898. Out of Retirement In 1905, at the age of 38 and after seven years away from boats, Guy was asked to sub temporarily for a member of the Leander Eight. It felt good, and so he kept on. The result that year was another win in the Grand and one in the Stewards’ Cup. He won the Stewards’ again in 1906 for Leander in a memorable race against Third Trinity, Cambridge. Guy Nickalls: “We got away together, we rowing 40 to Third’s 36, and losing a 1001 Mendenhall, Harvard-Yale, p. 280 265
