Smith clinches a fifth gold medal at the Buffalo Regatta
Seven years after he won Olympic gold for South Africa as part of the 'Awesome Foursome', John Smith is still collecting medals in the rowing sport.
The former Olympic gold medallist, John Smith from TuksRowing, clinched his fifth title during the Buffalo Regatta in East London last week when he was part of the men’s fours crew that triumphed in the Grand Challenge-race.
A victory at the Buffalo Regatta is something every rower who is serious about the sport wants to tick off at least once. The reason for this is that it is the oldest regatta in South Africa.
The first regatta took place in 1879. Many a rower considers it to be the “Holy Grail” of South African rowing. Saturday was the 132rd edition of the event.
Smith teamed up with Jake Green, Kyle Scoonbee and Brad Betts. Being the seasoned campaigner, he is Smith predicted beforehand that they could win. His confidence sprouted from what happened during last week.
“We were just that bit quicker during training. The unpredictable conditions on race day makes it a unique challenge every time. It can be rough 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 with us never knowing from which direction it will be blowing next,” explained the Tuks-rower. However, he hastily added that it will be foolish to take anything for granted.
Photo: Reg Caldecott
It turned out to be one of those near perfect days for Smith and his partners. They led from start beating the crew of Lawrence Brittain, Sandro Torrente, Charles Brittain and Mmbudzeni Masutha by nearly six seconds.
Masutha, also a Tuks rower, a former bronze medallist at the World Junior Championships, won the Silver Sculls (Senior-A Single Sculls). Luke Daffarn (Tuks) was second, four seconds adrift and David Hunt (Tuks) third.
Ramon di Clemente, a former Olympic medallist, holds the record for the most titles at the Buffalo Regatta. He won ten gold medals.
Judging from the combinations for the men’s fours it is clear that Roger Barrow (national rowing coach) is still experimenting before making a final decision as to which crews are going to compete at the World Championships with the aim of qualifying boats for the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo.
Barrow who is based at Tuks in Pretoria, hopes to – as he did in 2016 – qualify two heavyweight men’s crews. A pairs as well as a fours crew.
If everything goes according to plan Barrow is hoping to also qualify a lightweight women’s double sculls crew for Tokyo and maybe a lightweight men’s squad.
The South African rowers are off to Lesotho in mid-March to do their serious training. They ought to start their international campaign in April.
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