Alex Gregory – Not A Spare Anymore

Conrad Brunner is executive producer of Atomized Entertainment, a company which is doing the 12-week video series The Squad about GB Rowing Team men’s sweep squad for British Rowing. For the episode above ‘Alex Gregory’, Brunner writes in an e-mail,

Four years ago, Alex Gregory was a spare man for Team GB at the Beijing Olympics. “No-one got injured, which was good luck for them and bad luck for me,” Gregory says. Since then, Alex, 28, has firmly established himself in the team, winning World Championship M4- gold medals in 2009 and 2011. He has been selected for the Four – the top GB boat – for London 2012, alongside Andy Triggs Hodge, Pete Reed and Tom James. As Tom says of Alex: “He’s one of the most uncompetitive guys you could meet. But put him in a boat…”

More SiS & GB Rowing Team

After HTBS posted the first video of GB Rowing Team’s partnership with Sience in Sport, SiS, on last Thursday, 12 July, above is the second SiS video, which has interviews with members of GB Rowing Team and their nutrition intake which might interest some of you HTBS readers.

SiS Working With GB Rowing Team

One of the companies working closely with GB Rowing Team is the sports nutrition brand Science in Sport, SiS. The company is soon to release a couple of films looking into GB Rowing Team’s training rituals and nutrition strategies running up to the Olympic Games. As of now, the first film is only on a ‘private link’, but, of course, HTBS has been given the opportunity to give you readers a first look at these well-made and interesting films with interviews with many of the fine athletes in GB Rowing Team. The first of these SiS films is above.

SiS also has a special Rowing Facebook page which features guest blog posts from members of GB Rowing, as well as the rowers’ lead nutritionist and others related to the world of rowing. Go to their Facebook page here.

The British Stroke

Yesterday, HTBS received an e-mail from Conrad Brunner, executive producer at Atomized Entertaining. The company has produced a series of videos for the web called The Squad which are following the GB Rowing Team mens’ sweep squad through winter training as they aim to secure a seat for London 2012. About the latest one, ‘The British Stroke’ (above), Conrad writes,

“This feature is based on an interview with Martin Cross, whom we caught up with at Hampton School, London, (where the Searle brothers learnt to row). Martin represented the Great Britain Rowing Team from 1980 to 1992, winning a bronze medal at the 1980 games in Moscow (M4-), and a gold medal (M4+) alongside Steve Redgrave at Los Angeles in 1984. He is the author of Olympic Obsession: The Inside Story of Britain’s Most Successful Sport, covers rowing for BBC Radio 5 Live (his commentary on the eventful 2012 Boat Race was particularly memorable), and remains an active rower. You can follow Martin on twitter: @martcrossy – there are additional comments from Tom Ransley (GB M8+), David Tanner, Performance Director of GB Rowing Team, and Robert Treharne Jones of the Leander Club.”

The series are very well made and you can watch previous videos here.

GB Rowing Team Updates...

HTBS received the following from Conrad Brunner, Executive Producer of 'The Squad'. He writes,

FINAL SELECTION, our look at selection issues for the GB men’s heavyweight sweep squad ahead Wednesday's announcement, is now available to view on top. It has comments from Sir Matthew Pinsent, David Tanner CBE, Phelan Hill, and Alex Partridge.

Highlights from the Senior Trials are up on site, including a (near) full length version of the six boat M2- final. And we’ve also posted THE FOUR, the last in our three-parter on the boat classifications for the heavyweight sweep squad.

On Wednesday, we’ll hear Tom James (Cambridge) and Pete Reed (Oxford) talking about their time in the Blue boat, and the influence it had on their rowing careers.

Viewers will have a chance see the new look (or not?) GB Rowing Team crews in action at the World Cup Regatta in Switzerland via the online competition (open until 12 April). Details here.

THE SQUAD now has its own YouTube channel. Subscribe for regular updates here.

A Chance To Meet The GB Rowing Team

Today, in association with British Rowing’s sponsor, Siemens, The Daily Telegraph is giving you and a friend the chance to watch the Great Britain Rowing Team at a training session at their training Centre in Caversham, Berkshire. You and your friend will also have breakfast with the Team and find out what it takes to be a world class rower. What do you have to do to win this incredible prize? Fill in your details on the competition form. The entries must be received by midnight on September 30. Click here to go to the newspaper article about the competition, where you also will find terms and conditions. Good Luck!

Who knows, you might even hear the Team sing!