Cambridge 105 Radio - 2024 Boat Race - Paddy Ryan

Cambridge rowing coach Paddy talks about the excitement and preparation for the upcoming boat race. He praises the young athletes and their hard work. He discusses the opposition from Oxford and their determination to win. Paddy also mentions the squad selection and the addition of international rowers. He emphasizes the importance of staying focused and controlling the controllables. Paddy believes Cambridge can win again, but it won't be easy. The team is currently on a training camp in London to prepare for the race. So Paddy, a few months ago we were reminiscing about the 2023 boat race, which was really special. I bet you're excited to be doing it all again. Oh, it's a privilege. My hobby is my job, so I don't really get to work. I'm not sure my wife agrees with that, but there we go. No, it's really exciting, one week out and well, nervous, anxious, lots of emotions ready for the day. And how's the preparation been going for this year's race? Pretty good. You know, lucky enough to have a really young group of athletes who are curious about what they can achieve and haven't really set limits for themselves. So it's really quite exciting to see how they've embraced each challenge and, you know, we've got to create an environment where they can feed success. And yeah, I feel very privileged that they have worked so hard to get to here, you know, competing with their friends to earn seats. So yeah, very, very fortunate to have a really cool bunch of women. In terms of the squad itself, how pleased are you with the lineups for this year's race? Yeah, I mean, every year I was lucky enough to work with one of the fastest women in the world a couple of years ago, and she hadn't quite appreciated the challenge that we have. You know, a lot of Olympic programs and stuff, you know, they have, you know, athletes who have got four or more years of experience who build on their knowledge each day and they have the time in the day to, you know, really work on the small things. And here we are, you know, Cambridge students who are, you know, I've got a sixth year medic, I've got a final year PhD, they're all, you know, they've all got their day jobs as it were that are hectic enough. And on top of that, they put, you know, three to four hours of training and it's a really busy day for, every day is a busy day and they're tired and lots of stuff. And, you know, and we've got eight months to go from, you know, when we start our pre-camp through to the race. So they make it work and it's really quite admirable. I believe it's probably the, you know, I admire their tenacity. I admire the work that they, how hard they work to get it. And I'm not sure I could have done that at their age. They do their own part, but maybe not the Cambridge student part as well. So yeah, no, I think squad have worked really hard and we can't, you know, we hope for another opportunity to put our best foot forward and hope that the, goes our way. But we work quite hard on controlling the controllables and all of those sort of very modern things that are, you know, it's a, yeah, I think they've worked really hard and every year is different. They're a great squad. Hopefully they can be proud of their performance on race day. In terms of the opposition then, of course, Oxford were brushed aside already with a clean sweep in all the races. How do you think they're going to approach it this year? Well, you know, we've got this YouTube video called Turning the Tide. I admire some of the things that they have been focusing on. You know, a lot of, you know, last year seems to be there was a lot of reliance on us doing certain things for them and they were racing on the hope that we would do those things. You know, a lot of people think, you know, get sort of blown away when I say I don't really think about Oxford that much. I have enough, I have more than enough to do to focus on the athletes that I'm in charge of. I think they're going to be very hungry. Their body language to the crew announcement was very determined that they were going to beat us and, you know, maybe they will. I don't know. I hope not, but we are going to hold to our values that we've instilled over the year and that is the sort of the culture and the ethos of how we train. And if they can beat us on the day, then we'll shake their hand. And I hope, but I'm pretty certain that we know that we all have given our best effort. And I don't know, I can't get into this whole love-hate thing about an opposition. I've got too many friends who went to Oxford to put that sort of thing on them. I think they're going to work hard and I hope for a tough race, I really hope for a tough race that we come out on top. And if they can hold us off in that sort of second half of the race, then just wow, because, you know, with our form and everything, they deserve to win. But I will be very impressed if they do. In terms of your own squad selection as well, Jenna was telling me that you've got a couple of people who've returned from last year, you've promoted some people from within as well up to the seniors, if you like, and you've got a couple of international rowers as well that have come to join. Yeah, I mean, it's very much the theme of how Oxford and Cambridge work. You know, we have two young women who learnt to row three years ago and were in our second boat last year and have made the physical effort to step up this year. We've got another three women who have rowed in Blondie, our second boat, over the last several years who've also worked really hard. Some of them have rowed a bit longer, but they've worked incredibly hard to make the step, not just in physical effort, but in understanding their bodies and being prepared to put themselves on the line for an event that is a little bit scary. Two and a half million people watching, several hundred thousand people at the bank cheering, it can be quite intimidating for young people in their early 20s. It sounds like a really exciting thing to do, but it's like when it's faced in front of you, it can be quite daunting. I think to have that life experience is a huge thing, but it is definitely something that we have to talk about and make sure that they have the tools to remain focused on the things that are important. But yes, Megan and Hannah are two internationals. Megan comes from the Duke University in the United States and was the US Under-23 gold medalist last year. Hannah was a cox at the University of Syracuse, a first aid cox for several years, and is just the right person for this group of women. Yes, it's an exciting group, and every year it's a bit stressful, to be honest, but it's an exciting group. My wife coined things like, she said, I think you care about this group more than you've cared about a few, and I was like, well, that's all right. Honestly, I've cared about all my crews, but I've known this group of women, or the majority of these group of women, for a very long time, some of them, one of them five years now. So yes, I probably have put a bit more of myself into the crew, and I'll be wearing a bit more of my heart on my sleeve. So yes, I can tell you I'm anxious, in a good way. And what are your words of wisdom for the team going into the race this year? Words of wisdom? It's corny and simple, but do your best, stay present, remember to breathe, to recite those, you know, the words of action, to make sure that you don't fill your head space with things you can't control, which is very normal and very easy to do. And of course, we've got to talk about last year's race as well, which was a clean sweep for Cambridge. Do you think you can do it again? Yes. I always think we can do it again. There wouldn't be much value in not believing. I think there is going to be some epic races, and the river is certainly throwing some challenges our way, and there will be some chance in that. But you know, with the resources we've got available to us, and the athletes that come and join us, I do believe that we're ... and actually just their attitude and their belief, yeah, I believe it's possible. It's not going to be easy, but it's possible. You've been in London for the last few days on a training camp, and I think you're going to be there for just over a week, I believe, in the run-up to the race. Yes. Every year, you know, the river is ... it's a different river to anything I've known in the world. You know, a lot of people see it on the TV, but it has a ... we'll go Imperial, it has a 20-something foot tidal range, and understanding that body of water and how it moves, because it moves so fast, it's a very different experience. And so you can come in late, and you can just go in for a fresh form, but we're lucky enough to have an incredible group of supporters and friends of Cambridge in Putney that enabled us to have ... to come here and get our Tideway legs, as they like to describe it, to best prepare for the race. So we have a nice, yeah, really fun community. We get lots of support from the local Thames Running Club, and ... which best prepares us for the race, and it's the same way I've went out with the assistant, and from now, you know, this 10 days, it's just a really nice way to prepare for the race and kind of normalise. You know, you get to watch as the TV cameras come in, and the wiring goes up, and you get to sort of build ... build into the atmosphere, so it's less of a shock on race day, when it's, you know, you're adding a little bit each day. So yeah, no, I'm a big fan of a ... just a nice little camp building into the race. OK. Well, Paddy, all the very best for the races, which are taking place on Saturday the 30th of March. That's Easter Saturday. All the very best to you, and all the crews taking part this year. Thank you very much.