Coxswain Henry Fieldman the first ever to win Olympic medal in men’s and women’s event

Fieldman is the first cox to stand on the podium with crews of both sexes, after helping the women’s eights to bronze in Vaires-sur-Marne

Britain’s Henry Fieldman has become the first person to win medals in both men’s and women’s events at the Olympic Games.
World Rowing changed their rules after Rio to allow coxes of either sex to steer the eights – the only boats that still use coxes at Olympic regattas. On Saturday, Fielding was the cox for the British women’s eight as they rowed to the bronze medal at Vaires-sur-Marne, holding off a late push from the Americans.
He had previously taken bronze as the cox of the men’s eight at Tokyo.
In Tokyo, two of the three medal-winning women’s eights were coxed by men. But Fieldman is the first cox to stand on the podium with crews of both sexes.
Asked about this first on Saturday, Fieldman offered an understated reply. “They only changed the rule in 2017 so someone was going to do it and it just happened to be me.”
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 under-rated by people who don’t really understand rowing.”
The coxes in an Olympic rowing eight are miked up, with four speakers to relay their instructions throughout the boat. During the race, they have access to live data, such as the times of each boat to various stages of the course, and the distance they achieve with each stroke.
The boats also have a rudder which is controlled by two strings, but the cox would hope not to have to steer much, as any adjustment will slow the boat down fractionally.
Asked about his celebration, Brightmore said: “We’ve had some messages from the Sydney eight who won gold. Our coach Steve Trapmore was in that boat and I remember Rowley Douglas, the cox, standing up and jumping in after they won.
“The emotion got the better of me as soon as I heard that buzzer. I stood up because I just wanted to see everyone’s face, just to be in that moment with every single one of them. But I wasn’t going to jump in.”