Matthew Pinsent interview: Time was right for Steve Redgrave to go

Telegraph

5 days ago

The temperature is so hot that gentlemen have been allowed to remove their jackets in the stewards' enclosure. Yet Sir Matthew Pinsent is resolutely wearing his navy blazer despite the sweat-inducing heat haze which hangs over Henley-on-Thames.
And so he should, as Pinsent is only a few minutes into his new role as chief umpire of Henley Royal Regatta, a position which requires him to be impeccably turned out, and have impeccable timekeeping.
I was told he would arrive for our interview at 9:38am precisely – and during the chat he whips out a small electronic timer, to make sure we do not overrun. Time (and the umpire's launch) waits for no man, not even a quadruple Olympic gold medallist.
Pinsent's former rowing partner, Sir Steve Redgrave, recently relinquished the reins as chairman of HRR after a decade in charge, with fellow 1992 Olympian Richard Phelps now at the helm. Pinsent, meanwhile, has thrown himself into umpiring – not only at Henley, but at the Boat Race, National Schools and other regattas.
But with Pinsent part of the HRR committee who decided it was time for Redgrave to step aside as chairman and Phelps to step up, has there been any awkwardness?
'No, look, it comes to us all, there'll be time when everyone has to step back,' says Pinsent, robustly. 'As a steward what you learn pretty quickly is the regatta outlives you in a literal sense, but also in a professional sense. You've got to give it your best shot when you're in a position to do so, and then when the time has come for you to hand it over, you hand it over. Bluntly, the regatta has changed more in the last 12 years, 15 years, particularly under Steve's chairmanship, than it did in the previous 40.'
Pinsent confirms parity between male and female racing at HRR is Phelps's aim. While the junior and premier events are equal, there is work to be done on the club and intermediate levels, despite the introduction of a new women's eight event, the Bridge Challenge Plate.
He will not be drawn when I ask about recent rowing controversies involving the coaching at Oxford Brookes, the eligibility row between his alma mater, Oxford, and Cambridge in the Boat Race, and the recent sexual-assault scandal at his former club Leander, which first admitted women in 1998. One of the men involved in the recent Telegraph investigation has since been suspended by British Rowing.
But what he will say is that 'the efforts to make rowing more open are only to be welcomed'.
That goes for the regatta, too. He adds: 'Henley has always been about the best in the sport competing one on one out on the water. That's never going to change. But that does not mean it's not accessible or achievable for people at a relatively modest level, particularly at junior level. You can train and you can learn to row. There are people here who have learned to row within the last two years who are racing. That is meritocratic, and we're going to try our best to keep it as open and meritocratic as we possibly can. The event and the sport needs breadth across all the levels.'
Returning to his own umpiring role, it is clear Pinsent is passionate about supporting the sport that has given him so much, personally and professionally.
'I find it a really lovely way of giving back to the sport,' he says. 'It started almost as soon as I was a steward [at HRR]. I became a qualified umpire for the Thames region, then multi-lane, and World Rowing, and here. There's a group of nine or 10 including the chairman, and we divvy up the races and make sure umpiring is consistent and the rules are applied equally. Henley writes its own rules, which is wonderful, but also can get complicated at times.'
The umpire has the power to disqualify a crew: it's a heartbreaking decision to have to make, when rowers have trained for so long and so hard to get to Henley. 'It's sad for the crew but as long as you're sure in your own mind, and as long as you're confident,' Pinsent says. 'The infringement has to be so blatant, it's rarely a grey area.'
It is a busy few days for Pinsent – but there is one crew he definitely will not be umpiring this year. That is Marlow Rowing Club A, a junior girls' quad scull, competing in the Diamond Jubilee Challenge Cup on Thursday. Why? Because his daughter Eve is in the crew.
Will he watch? 'Because I've got umpiring to do, it's quite difficult to step out. I certainly won't be umpiring her race. That's a no-no. But I'm not imagining I'm going to be able to watch her race from start to finish. I might see it as I go down for another race. She does her thing, I do mine. And we'll meet at the end of the day, and it'll be good news or not.'
As someone who knows how to win, he will surely give his daughter a bit of advice before the start? Far from it. '[I say] nothing,' he says. 'I stay out of it. She has a coach for that.'
He is not one to interfere with training, either. 'I tried quite hard to stay out of it because it's not that useful. Either you roll your sleeves up and get involved in coaching in a formal way, and then that's a whole other challenge if you're coaching your children. Or you are a rowing parent and you stay out of it for other reasons,' he says.
While all three of Pinsent's children, including twins Jonah and Lucas, followed him into the sport, he's happy for them to find their own way, too. 'One of my sons has decided that's it. Never wants to row again. That's completely fine. Everyone reaches that point, and he's off doing his thing, which is great. We've got two left who are still rowing, [with Eve] competing this week. It's giving them a lot. I love the impact it's had on them. It's really beneficial.'
Still, every rowing parent wants to see their child walk away with a Henley medal (Pinsent has 14 to his name, in coxless pairs and fours). I ask how he rates Eve's chances against the dominant junior girls' crew, Wycliffe. His answer makes me wonder whether he might be a little more locked in than he confesses.
'They did well at Henley Women's – they were second. They did well at National Schools, they were third. The trajectory is good, but Henley is a funny thing. It's not a six-lane race, it's not a straightforward speed test. It's match racing in all the best and worst ways. We're going to find out [if they can beat Wycliffe]. I don't know whether anyone can. That's what we're here to find out.'
As for Pinsent himself, he's at ease with his decision to hang up his oars, having retired in November 2004. 'Been there, done that. Don't worry about it.' Does he do any rowing now? 'No! Only indoors at home, where no one can see me.'
With his daughter involved in the sport, it's natural Pinsent's keen to encourage other women to give it a go. Change at the once men-only regatta has been constant if not especially speedy since women first raced here in 1981: the number of female entries this year is double that of 2019.
But HRR and rowing cannot rest on their laurels. It may be one of our most successful Olympic sports, but at the grass roots, rowing can only exist thanks to unpaid umpires and tireless club members. Without their dedication, those Olympic gold medals will not happen.
'We need to look after volunteers,' Pinsent says. 'We need to make sure we're still encouraging people into the sport and we have a ready supply of people who are going to run events. Because otherwise they won't run. We know that because some fall by the wayside.'
With all that enthusiasm, I wonder if he has any appetite to be chairman himself at some point, or if he is happy where he is now. 'I've only been chief umpire for one hour, so we'll see how the rest of the day goes,' he jokes. So no desire to step in Phelps's shoes? 'Not today,' he says, as he heads off to his next race, timer in hand.