Preston rower Graeme Thomas was disappointed after last-place finish at Euros

Graeme Thomas knows the men's quadruple sculls were not good enough at the European Rowing Championship in Glasgow but is adamant that lessons will be learned.
By The Newsroom
Published 6th Aug 2018, 08:01 BST
Updated 6th Aug 2018, 09:13 BST
Graeme ThomasGraeme Thomas
Graeme Thomas

The crew finished in last place on the water at Strathclyde Country Park, just a month after winning gold in the Rowing World Cup in Lucerne, Switzerland.

The Preston rower is bitterly disappointed with the outcome on home water but with little over a month before the crew heads to the World Rowing Championships, Thomas has called on his crewmates to draw a line under their Glasgow outing.

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He said: “We’ve got two training camps coming up this month and I think we’re just looking forward to getting back to basics, starting from the bottom and working back up again.

“We don’t want to make excuses and we need to look forward to what we’ve got which is a good five or six weeks before the World Championships to get some speed back in the boat.

“We fly out to camp on Tuesday. There’s still belief there within the crew that we can get the result we want at the World Championships but that latest result wasn’t us and it tastes awful but we know we’re better than that.”

Thomas missed almost the entirety of 2017 following hip surgery and has been working hard to get back to his best in the last eight months.

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The road hasn’t been easy for the 29-year-old but the three-time World Championship medallist is enjoying life back on the water.

He said: “I’ve had a much better year and my training has been far more consistent.

“This last lot of races I’ve started to feel a little weary because I missed so much last year but the body’s learning.”

Thomas added: “We’re still two years away from what really matters to me which is the Tokyo Olympics in 2020.

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“It’s been a massive learning experience this year so if we can consolidate ourselves at the training camp, do well in the World Championships then that sets us up for Olympic qualifying next year.”

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