Esher rower Will Stewart set his sights on a maiden Olympic appearance after a statement victory at the British Olympic Trials.
Stewart, 26, emerged from the ashes of a tumultuous Tokyo Games, winning European and World gold in the men’s four during 2022.
He teamed up with pair specialist Tom George for his latest slice of glory, thriving in testing circumstances at Caversham.
“We’d only been in the boat for three days prior to Sunday, so we haven’t had much preparation for it,” said Stewart.
“We dealt with the weather well, it was quite windy and choppy towards the end and we just tried to stay quite clean and do it nicely.
“I think we did that quite well and came out on top, so it was good work.”
George added: “Trials are always an interesting one because you’re racing against your mates.
“You also know you’ve got a job to do to put yourself in the best position for Olympic selection.
“The way we went about it was the most positive aspect, we got off well and then just kept turning the screw. I think that’s a really mature way to race for this point in the season.”
A gold medallist at the Under-23 World Championships in 2019, Stewart brings fresh blood and star potential to a new-look Team GB squad which required resuscitation after finishing 14th in the medal table at Tokyo.
But Stewart is not paying much attention to the failings of the last cycle, instead relishing his ride to a potential debut in Paris.
“It’s my first cycle so it’s all been quite new,” said Stewart, who is one of over 1,000 elite athletes on UK Sport’s National Lottery-funded World Class Programme.
“Every year has been a case of building up towards the bigger goal at the end, but I’ve really enjoyed it.
“I joined at the same time as a few of the guys I did Under-18s and University with, so it’s a really nice atmosphere to be going through the process with guys I’ve spent a really long time with and hopefully can continue to do so for the rest of the year.”
Subject to selection, Stewart’s path to Paris 2024 continues at April’s World Cup event in Italy, with minimal crew changes expected thereafter.
He has raced in an eight at the last two World Cup events, but feels he is best suited elsewhere.
“I was in the four two years ago and I really enjoyed that,” Stewart added.
“At this stage, it’s just about getting selected.
“You’re always going to have preferences and the smaller boats are that for me but just going to the Olympics is the hope and dream.”
British Rowing is the governing body for the sport and is responsible for the development of rowing in England and the training and selection of rowers to represent Great Britain. The GB Rowing Team is supported by the National Lottery Sports Fund. To find out more, and to follow the team, head to https://britishrowing.org/
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