Pioneering SA rowers set to compete against elite teams at historic regatta event

When the South African quartet of rowers pull their oars in Charles River this weekend in Boston, Massachusetts, US, they will be making history. For the first time, an all black African team will take part at the Head of the Charles regatta.

Lebone Mokheseng, Sepitle Leshilo, Lwazi Zwane and Sheldon Krishnasamy are the four athletes set to etch their names into the archives.

The Head of the Charles, celebrating its 60th anniversary this year, is the largest three-day rowing event in the world, attracting more than 11,000 athletes from around the globe annually. The 4.7km regatta is the largest — in terms of participation — but will see a crew consisting of only black members for the first time.

The idea to send the crew to the prestigious race was conceived of by Ken Gliddon, the president of Western Cape rowing. He initially wanted to send a team from the Western Cape, but following a trial period where times were assessed the decision was made to incorporate stronger rowers from Gauteng as well.

“So the team was assembled on merit,” Gliddon explained to Daily Maverick. “It was originally meant to be a Western Cape crew.

 “[But] I put my foot down and said no, they didn’t make the numbers. They can try again next year.”

Competitive crew

The crew is joined by coach ​​Michael Ortlepp. The idea to host time trials was borne out of having a competitive squad out in the Charles River, not just one who would look good for the pictures.

It’s why the boat size moved from an initial eight to four, with the four best manning a coxed four.

“I said to Michael [Ortlepp], just understand one thing from me, this is a groundbreaking event.

“It’s a remarkable thing for South African sport, for rowing particularly. But I’m not sending a boat that cannot compete. You can go for the photographs, but we’re going there to compete.”

The South African crew will be competing against some of the best rowers in the world, including groups from prestigious US universities such as Harvard, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and Stanford.

“The crew that we have there is representative of where we’re at in terms of ability,” Gliddon said. “We will race more and we will do more World Championships. But we’re putting our best foot forward.

“It’s the beginning of these kids being able to compete at a world level.”

Crews who have participated in World Championships and the Olympic Games will also be competing at the Head of the Charles this weekend.

The South African athletes at trials were expected to row two kilometres in six minutes and 30 seconds. At a world level, the expected time is about six minutes flat.

“That’s the gap between the world’s best and where we’re at,” the president said.

Growing the sport

The idea to send the athletes to the Head of the Charles is part of a bigger project to develop the depth of rowing in South Africa, particularly by making it more accessible to previously disadvantaged individuals. Gliddon plans to send a women’s eight team to the same event next year.

“We’re probably not going to get an Olympic squad together in the next four or five years that is representative, but we are now growing a sport,” Gliddon said of his long-term vision.

The effort of investing in previously ignored areas began about four years ago, according to Gliddon. Since then, the numbers have soared.

“At a schoolboy level, it’s a predominantly white sport, and it’s male. At the university level now in the Western Cape, we have three women rowing for every one man.”

Gliddon has tackled the inclusivity of the sport at a tertiary education level, focusing on growth at the University of the Western Cape — a university that was initially established as an educational institution for coloured people exclusively.

“I threw the book out of the window and opened up one of the clubs and said, ‘we will row’.”

“One of the biggest barriers to entry to the sport was obviously swimming. So we started a swimming programme at the University of Western Cape, and it literally started with a big boat race.” 

They had too few athletes for the race to fill the boat. Now Gliddon has the opposite problem. 

“We’re now sitting in a position where we’re having to turn athletes away.”

The Head of the Charles this weekend will make a big splash in terms of the South African crew’s participation, but it’s just the start of a more representative, competitive rowing community in the country. DM