You came first, which Argo sees as a big achievement.
‘If you look at the field we were in, it wasn’t a pushover. In the final the whole field was full, there were six boats and all our competitors were taking part. Wageningen does not have as big a pool of talent to draw from as Amsterdam or Rotterdam, so it is quite an achievement if you manage to win.’
And you and Roel haven’t been rowing together very long.
‘Indeed, we have only been rowing together for four months. But we do both have experience with other boats and teams, so we know how it works. During the training sessions we thought it should be possible to come in the top three. But to come first was more than we expected.’
Tradition decrees that a winner’s supporters jump in the water. That didn’t happen this year?
‘Earlier that day a cox on an eight fell out of the boat for some mysterious reason. She was in the water for three minutes and had to be rushed to hospital because of severe hypothermia. Her temperature had dropped from 37 to 32 degrees. It was then announced that it was life-threatening to get into the water, so no one did it. A pity in some ways, because it’s part of it really.’