Tall order for rower with big Olympic hopes

A STAR rower who has struggled to find a boat big enough for him, began his bid for future Olympic glory yesterday with the launch of a specially constructed vessel.

Sean Corrigall, 22, and 6ft 9in, set sail in his specially-made rowing boat – called the Viking of the North – at the Peedie Sea in Kirkwall, Orkney.

Corrigall, who is from Orkney but rows for Moseley Boat Club, London, has made major waves in the sport since picking up his oars but until now has felt his potential to be constrained because he feels cramped in standard boats.

He narrowly missed being selected for Team GB at London 2012 and now has his sights set on Rio 2016.

Corrigall received a £10,000 grant from Orkney Islands Council to help fulfill his Olympic dreams and used it for a custom-made boat to accommodate his extra long legs.

Corrigall has offered to work with schools in Orkney to promote sport and healthy living.

Earlier this year, Orkney Islands’ Council’s education and leisure committee felt that the official recommendation to provide £1,000 for the new boat was not enough, and voted by ten to two in favour of providing the full £10,000.

They also agreed to seek national funding support for Corrigall through the islands’ local MP and MSP.

Corrigall’s father David had also travelled through Orkney and Shetland selling potatoes to raise funds for the custom-made boat.

Corrigall began rowing three years ago and has high hopes of being part of a future Olympic squad for Great Britain.

At 18st, he needs to eat between 6,000 to 8,000 calories a day when in training.

Corrigall took third place in last year’s British Under-23 championships and is the Scottish indoor rowing champion. On his website, he wrote: “I started rowing in 2008 after watching an interview on the BBC morning programme with Steve Redgrave. He was doing an appeal, asking for people to come forward as there was a real shortage of tall people for certain sports and they were doing a drive as it’s all focused on London 2012.

“I applied and with my height and fitness level was asked to go to a training camp in Nottingham. There were 4,500 who applied, 2,500 were there at the start of the weekend and 200 at the end. I was then asked to go for another assessment weekend and was one of only 20 people asked to take part in the world class start programme. I am now one of only two left on the World Class Start GB programme.

“Three years on, I have just moved from Reading Rowing Club to Molesey Rowing Club in South West London. It is a very prestigious, world renowned as one of the UK’s top High Performance rowing clubs and noted for its success with all levels of rowing from junior to veteran with many current and past Olympic champions. My training programme consists of a 40 hour training week. This ranges from training on the water to gym work such as weights and the ergo meter. On average, I train six hours a day over a 12 hour period and three hours on a Sunday. It’s split to allow recovery time and for food.

“Competing in the British championships was an amazing achievement. There is so much behind winning the medal on the day, it takes hours, days, weeks of elite athlete training for that one performance. I feel that, in rowing terms, I have been rowing competitively only for a short while, and I have had to learn endurance, technique, stamina and PMA – Positive Mental Attitude which is my stock in trade.

“I am so excited about the boat being especially built for me, taking into account my height, weight and foot size. The average height of an elite rower is 6ft 5in and my current boat is built for that.”