A shakeup was inevitable and it came Thursday. Head coach Martin McElroy is leaving the Canadian men’s heavyweight team and head coach John Keogh is leaving the women’s heavyweight program, the latter to coach in his native Australia. Both contracts expire at the end of this month.
Because of its pre-Rio Olympic medal success, rowing is the most heavily funded Canadian summer sport. It received $17 million from Own the Podium in the quadrennial from London 2012 to Rio 2016. For that money, more medals were expected.
“This [coaching changes] is the right thing,” said Adam Kreek of Victoria, an Olympic gold-medallist rower from Beijing in 2008.
“The program needs to be stripped down and rebuilt. It needs a serious review. We [former Canuck rowers] built a strong legacy and hoped it would in turn leave a legacy . . . but our legacy has been [squandered]. Our success in Beijing freed up a ton of money for the Canadian rowing program. Now that funding will be lost.”
The national men’s heavyweight team, along with Jennerich and Obee, train at Elk Lake and the women’s heavyweight team in London, Ont.
McElroy came to Elk Lake after achieving some good results with the British rowing team. He replaced the legendary Mike Spracklen, after the latter was controversially let go as Canadian men’s coach following the 2012 London Olympics.
The results, however, just haven’t been there for Canada over the last quadrennial.
“After 31Ú2 intense and challenging years as performance director of the men’s heavyweight program in Victoria, it’s time for someone else to pick up the challenge, said McElroy, in a statement.
“After a turbulent transition post-London, we made progress, but there is still more to be done. Sometimes it takes someone new and a new approach to renew the energy in the fight. I am OK with that. I made my contribution.”
Rowing Canada did not give a timeline regarding the naming of coaching replacements. A rising coaching star within the program is Tom Morris, who guided Jennerich and Obee to their lightweight double Olympic silver medal in Rio last month.
“I really hope the heavyweight men and women get to have the opportunity and experience I had this past year working with Tom Morris,” said Obee.
Kevin Light of Victoria, a two-time Olympic rower under Spracklen, and gold medallist with the Canadian eight at Beijing in 2008, said many Canadian alumni rowers felt their feedback was shut out from the process during the last quadrennial. He added all coaching options should be considered, including bringing Spracklen back, or at least people associated with him.
“What needed to be done has already started,” said Light, of Thursday’s coaching moves.
Ironically, Spracklen will be back in town next month when he is inducted into the Victoria Sports Hall of Fame. He coached the Canadian men’s eight to Olympic gold medals at Barcelona in 1992 and Beijing in 2008 and silver at London in 2012, and also the Canadian four to silver at Athens in 2004, and Silken Laumann to her famous back-from-the-brink bronze at Barcelona.
“A lot of great things were accomplished on Elk Lake [under Spracklen] and we should take advantage of those people and tap into that legacy by inviting them back into the fold in a useful manner,” said Light.
Light noted that Spracklen-coached Olympic medallists such as Ben Rutledge, Barney Williams and Kyle Hamilton now all have coaching backgrounds, and that particular input could prove invaluable to Rowing Canada as it looks to the future.
“Why not give the younger coaches a chance?” said Kreek.
“Let’s figure this out and try to build another dynasty. Let’s get back to the basics and what really worked in our success — which was hard, hard work on Elk Lake every day.”
Rowing has won the second-most gold medals for Canada in the Summer Olympics with nine, behind only track and field’s 14. Rowing has accumulated the third-most total medals for Canada in the Summer Olympics with 41, trailing only track and field’s 60 and swimming’s 49.
Rowing Canada’s new coaches, when hired, will be handed the daunting task of returning Canada to its former level of rowing prominence at Tokyo 2020. But they may have to accomplish that with funding deeply slashed because of the lack of success at Rio 2016.
