TALENT
Stroke of genius – Sam Bosworth and Henry King team up
A s College cox Henry King pushed himself in pursuit of a Maadi Cup medal, he could look to the world’s best coxswain as his role model – and mentor. In turn, Olympic gold medallist Sam Bosworth (13830) acknowledged that the “role of the coxswain is a unique one” as he welcomed the chance to guide the next College generation to success on the water. A winning combination, Old Boy Sam and Year 13 student Henry formed a strong bond this year as the Olympian helped the young cox navigate the challenges and literal ebb and flow of the blue ribbon event. Both faced huge upheaval to claim prized medals, with Sam steering the men’s eight to gold in Tokyo last year amid a pandemic, and Henry guiding the top College crew to a hard-fought silver in the Maadi Cup this year.
Sam played a major role in Henry’s success when the young cox was forced to abruptly change his rowing direction after being told he ‘could never row again’. After watching College claim the Maadi victory as a Year 9 student, Henry took up the sport at U15 level, quickly winning selection for the development programme. “This meant that I went on Rowing camps over the summer and made the U15 octuple crew, winning gold at the South Island Club Championships,” Henry says, adding that he later lost his seat. However, Henry fought back to return in the U16 section, “and this time I made the U16 top eight as a bow seat”. In a heart-breaking call – only a day into pre-cup preparation – the 2020 Maadi Cup was cancelled because of Covid-19. Henry then came back for his U17 season “as a 'social
COLLEGE 2022
97
Made with FlippingBook - Online catalogs