Brittain achieves unique double at the Buffalo Regatta
One of the stars of the Tuks rowing club has achieved an exceptional double victory last week at the Buffalo Regatta in East London.
Olympic silver medallist, Lawrence Brittain from TuksRowing joined a small elite group of rowers last week when he won the Silver Sculls as well as the Grand Challenge (senior coxless fours) at the Buffalo Regatta which took place in East London.
A victory at the Buffalo Regatta is something every rower who is serious about the sport wants to tick off their bucket list. This is because it is the oldest regatta in South Africa. The first regatta took place in 1879. Rowers consider it to be the ‘Holy Grail’ of South African rowing.
The unpredictable conditions on race day make it a unique challenge every time. It can be rough at times because there is a current and also a bit of a tide in the river. Sometimes there are waves which can make the water very choppy. Usually it is windy but rowers never know from which direction the wind will be blowing next.
John Smith, a former Olympic gold medallist, who also achieved the unique double at the Buffalo Regatta, compared it to playing basketball and immediately afterwards netball.
“Even though the two sports are similar, there are some significant differences. In the sculls you use two oars and in the fours only one,” said Smith.
Brittain had good reason to describe his Buffalo feats as a fantastic experience. He was certainly not only referring to the fact that he won. What made his unique feat special is that he and his three brothers, Matt, James and Charles, got to compete together in the fours at the Buffalo for the first time. This is something they have been dreaming about for years. The chance of them doing so again in the foreseeable future is slim.
“The only reason why we got to do so is because it is the year after the Olympic Games therefore Roger Barrow (National Rowing Coach) tends to be slightly more lenient,” explained Brittain.
The Brittain brothers certainly did not have it easy during the race. They got off to a good start, but their rivals (John Smith, Jake Green, David Hunt and Leo Davis) were never going to give up without fight. They slowly but surely drew level with the Brittain brothers then continued to slowly but surely edge in front. At the halfway mark the four brothers were in second place. However the race experience of Lawrence and Matt (a former gold medallist at the Olympic Games) started to kick in.
In the morning Lawrence Brittain won the single sculls race with relative ease, rowing a time of 8:25:02 in the final.
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