As for why he had made the transition from men’s to women’s rowing, Fieldman took the opportunity to compliment his opposite number, Harry Brightmore, who had performed an eye-catching celebration dance on the stern of his boat after the men’s eight took gold.
“Harry is a really talented cox,” said the 5ft 4in Fielding, who is 35 and grew up in the rowing hotspot of Hammersmith, west London. “The thinking was that he’d be a better fit for the men and I’d be better for the women.
“It’s been a real joy, the honour of my life. Each stroke on average is harder [for the women than the men] and I’ve been super-impressed by them. They are a really supportive group. We’ve been through a lot of ups and downs and challenges.”
In the build-up to this race, Fieldman received a vote of support from his crew. “He brings out the best in all of us, so we could not do it without him,” Heidi Long told Reuters.
“We’re a big group and he keeps us all on exactly the same thing – he takes away all the worry from what we have to do. We know that when we’re sitting at the start line, absolutely everything’s been taken care of.”
Long’s crew-mate Harriet Taylor also stressed the importance of having a capable cox. “I feel like the cox is often quite undervalued,” she said, “and maybe underrated by people who don’t really understand rowing.”
