Coxswain Henry Fieldman makes Olympic history

Great Britain’s coxswain Henry Fieldman reflected on the “honour of his life” after becoming the first person to win an Olympic medal in both men’s and women’s events.

Fieldman was the cox when the men’s eight won bronze in Tokyo three years ago and repeated that feat with the women’s crew at the Paris Olympics.

“They only changed the rule back in 2017. Someone was going to do it and it happened to be me,” the 35-year-old from Hammersmith said somewhat matter-of-factly.

“There’s a really talented cox at the back of the men’s eight, Harry Brightmore.

“The thinking was that he would be a better fit for the men, and I would be a good person to bring some experience into the women’s eight.”

Britain’s women’s eight finished just 0.67 seconds down on Canada in the battle for silver with world champions Romania having stormed clear to take gold.

Fieldman, who will now decide whether to continue in the sport, said: “In the last Games we won everything in the season running up to Tokyo and then came away with a bronze, which was a bit of a disappointment.

“Not having friends and family there was tough, and I think everyone in the world was burnt out by the pandemic by then.

“I feel for this one we’ve done a pretty good job and I’m really proud of the team. It’s been the honour of my life to work with this squad.

“The programme for the women is different to the men and each stroke on average it is probably harder.

“I’ve been super impressed by them, a really supportive group. They’ve been through a lot of ups and downs and challenges.”