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INTERVIEW | Gearoid Towey

(Photo of Gearoid Towey)

Paul Fitzpatrick talks to Gearoid Towey about his life at Trinity and the build-up to the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games.

THIS SPORTING LIFE

Snapshots from a life spent in a boat: Rousing yourself from bed to disappear down another random river into the dawn mist. Skipping breakfast to make weight and hitting the treadmill for lunch. Always existing on the fringe of the Irish public’s fickle sporting consciousness. And, occasionally, getting everything just right, gliding together in perfect, magical harmony with your three co-rowers on the big stage.

Gearoid Towey’s soft Fermoy brogue quickens. That’s the moment, you sense, that he does this for.

“You’re with four lads all the time and you’re basically sitting on a little piece of cardboard fibre and trying to make it balance and make it go fast,” he explains matter of factly. “Rowing is a really technical sport and, the more technical a sport is, the more you have to work mentally on it, and the more you have to work mentally on something, the more irritable you can become. When things are going well and you’re moving fast though, it’s because the four of you are working together in unison and it’s an incredible feeling. We all have a really good respect for each other, we all trust each other and know that nobody is going to bottle out. It’s a pleasure to row with them.”

Not many students would list attempting to row non-stop from Spain to America among their extra-curricular activities during their college years. Then again, not many men are like Towey. The 31-yearold is a world champion rower and, when Trinity Today caught up with him, was preparing for his third Olympics. Incredibly, he managed to balance his training schedule around a degree course in Trinity College prior to his graduation last year. “Around exam time it was (Continued on page 59...)