大象传媒

Olympians' route (A = Leander Club)

Back in August, all eyes were on the Shunyi Lake during the first week of the Olympic Games.

With 6 medals won on the rowing lake in Beijing, attention now turns to the town responsible for the glory.

Henley on Thames has been the home of rowing since the regatta was first introduced to the town in 1839. Nowadays the British rowers live and train in the town.

Many of those who have Beijing medals hanging from their neck learnt their sport at Leander club, on the Berkshire bank of the Thames.

Rowers at Henley Regatta

On Saturday 11 October 2008 rowing medal winners and four coaches will board an open top bus, which will wind it's way through Henley town centre.

Before that they'll be at an official reception at the River and Rowing Museum first thing in the morning. Then they'll be reunited in boats, paddling down the river to Leander Club.

It will be more of a leisurely splash about than a lung bursting charge down the half mile stretch of water.

Unlike the Olympic games, the athletes will this time be dodging a great flotilla of pleasure cruisers, rowing fans and press boats out to salute the rowers achievements.

The scene will be more like Dunkirk or the Spanish Armada, than the lonely solitude of the neatly roped off Olympic sprint lanes. Saturday morning shoppers may have a shock when they first find some of the roads closed off, then find themselves tripping over Olympic stars.

The bus leaves Leander Club at 11.30am. It will trundle it's way over the bridge, up towards the town hall, where it will swing right, down Bell Street then right down New Street, before going back up Hart Street to arrive at the Town Hall at midday.

Mark Hunter and Zac Purchase

The medal winners will be meeting schoolchildren, signing autographs and having pictures taken, before another reception hosted by the town council.

Jurgen Grobler, the extraordinarily successful British rowing coach is delighted the town is making such an effort.

He says, "it's wonderful to see a town make that effort to celebrate their athletes. For a small town it's a big, big thing. I'm sure people will enjoy it".

As arguably this countries most successful elite coach he is an intriguing man. Brought up in communist East Germany, he would be forgiven for finding genteel and tranquil Henley something of a culture shock.

A blazer showing rowing colours

"There's a great stretch of water there. Henley is a rowing Mecca. Now celebrating Olympic rowers and Olympic medallists, it will be great".
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Rowers' key attribute is discipline, so partying and celebrating may be less natural than training and winning.

Once the open top bus is parked, the bunting comes down and the receptions are over, it will be back to the water and the gym. Four more years of gruelling work are needed to realise dreams at Dorney Rowing Lake in 2012.