THE SPORT OF ROWING put an end once and for all to the doubts as to the effectiveness of the English methods, which have been widely circulated since the second Belgian victory in the ‘Grand’ last year.”1022 Club Nautique de Gand’s wins in the Grand in 1906 and 1907 had come a decade after the American invasion of Henley by Cornell, Yale and Pennsylvania,1023 but this time a foreign crew had actually won. What set all these foreign crews apart? Long slides, lack of long English Orthodox body swing and a heavier load. The Times of London published a long commentary putting the race into historical perspective: “It must be remembered that the English style has not been a thing of a few years’ growth; it has been handed down for three-quarters of a century. It is true that the invention of the sliding seat thirty odd years back caused some development of ancient principles; but the old principles were still adhered to, and were only amplified to fit new conditions. “Some of our earliest rowing records tell of the time when the advantage of the long over the short stroke was definitely proved and finally admitted [the era of Egan and Shadwell]; and yet, curiously enough, the foreign crews that have come over to England from time to time have invariably been exponents of what is, according to our notions, a short stroke style. [The Belgian technique featured shorter body angle forward and shorter layback on longer slides. They rowed higher ratings than their English Orthodox contemporaries but were not shorter in the water, a nuance unappreciated by British critics. See below.] This is probably due to the fact that all foreign oarsmanship had its beginnings in 1022 The Olympic Regatta, Victory of Leander, The Times of London , August 1, 1908, p. 13 1023 See Chapters 32, 34 and 37. 1024 See Chapter 72. the days subsequent to the invention of the sliding seat. The shortness of stroke of these foreign crews is almost always due to a lack of swing, whereas long swing is regarded as the first essential of good English rowing, an article of faith handed down to us from the time of the fixed seat. “Over the long course, such as that between Putney and Mortlake, it is hardly credible that a crew which did not swing would have a chance of victory; but the recent Belgian successes have raised some doubt as to the effectiveness over a short course. This doubt, it is now to be hoped, has been put finally to rest; for Leander in yesterday’s race did not win merely through superior staying power, but had the pace of their opponents from the very first stroke. “Although very short in the water [not true], the Belgians not only raced pluckily, but showed in some respects good form.1024 Their wrist work at the finish is very smart and effective, the movement of the bodies forward very steady, and the stroke in the water, for all its shortness, is driven through tremendously hard and clean. These merits account for their undoubted pace; for it must be remembered that it took a very good crew to beat them, a crew that not only shared in a great degree these characteristics, but added to them the advantage of a long swing. “There is no question that this Leander Eight is one of the finest – many think the finest – that ever rowed. It was composed of veteran oarsmen who have taken the greatest pains for months past to get themselves into condition for this regatta. Their action has not only saved the credit of the country, but has very possibly saved English oarsmanship from the degeneracy that threatened it. It is to be hoped that many of the young generation of Oxford and Cambridge rowing men have watched this Leander Eight, and will profit by the 272
