Rowing: Constantine Louloudis tipped for Olympics

Published on Sunday 27 March 2011 16:41

Oxford's teenage Xchanging Boat Race winner Constantine Louloudis is ready to be fast-tracked into Britain's 2012 Olympic squad, according to his coach Sean Bowden.

Louloudis, a first-year Classics undergraduate, rowed in the six seat on Saturday as Oxford surged to an emphatic four-length victory over Cambridge.

The 19-year-old has been compared to four-time Olympic champion Sir Matthew Pinsent, who also took the route from Eton to Oxford to the Olympics.

At the last British trials, Louloudis and his Oxford crew-mate Karl Hudspith paired up to finish seventh, beating 2010 world silver-medallists Greg Searle and Tom Broadway.

And Bowden believes Louloudis could step into most of the current British crews and make a difference in time for London 2012.

"I don't see why not. I know the numbers. I think it's all there for Stan. I don't see what's going to stand in his way of going a long way," Bowden said. "I know what he did in a scratch pair at the last set of (British) trials and that's just after one afternoon of training. Stan's got the credentials and he can get there.

Louloudis is now targeting the Great Britain selection trials at Lake Dorney 16-18 April, where he will link up with Cambridge's George Nash.

He will require permission from his tutors at Trinity College if he is to take a year out from his studies to concentrate on making the Olympic squad, but he said after Saturday's triumph: "I wouldn't want to pre-empt their decision but winning today won't hurt."