We can cope without fans at the Olympics: George
BySportsbeat
Published 21/06/2020 at 08:25 GMT
Tom George says his lung-busting British record row during lockdown shows an Olympics behind closed doors could still generate top performances.
Eurosport
Image credit: Eurosport
Tokyo Organising Committee Toshiro Muto has admitted excluding fans is one of the COVID-19 'countermeasures' being considered for the rearranged Games.
Having broken the British 2km indoor record alone in the shed in his parents' garden, George feels equipped to deal with stony silence when he crosses the line next year.
"It's always great to race in front of a crowd and Henley (Royal Regatta) is the best example of how powerful the crowd can be," said the 25-year-old.
"I've never raced at an Olympics but at the World Championships, the crowd is awesome and the noise spurs you on in the last bit of the race.
"But in every race apart from Henley, you can't hear anything for the first 1500 metres.
"In an ideal world, you want it to be a packed house but right now I've got a farmer watching from his field and it could be that at the Olympics next year.
"We know that if there aren't any fans allowed at the Olympics, it's going to be a similar situation to now and dragging performances out of yourself rather than relying on an adrenalin rush.
"You're going to have to dig deeper within yourself rather than relying on energy around you."
The Princeton University graduate had his spot in Britain's eight confirmed on March 21, only for postponement to be confirmed three days later.
Jurgen Grobler's plan was to keep the nucleus of the crew that won bronze at the 2019 World Championships and secured one of only seven available quota places intact.
Germany's Achter have dominated the cycle, sweeping to three World Championship and European Championship golds.
Britain have only beaten them once when a favourable lane draw helped them triumph at the final World Cup race in Rotterdam last year.
"The main thing is not to panic about the Germans," said George.
"They are a class outfit and have dominated the event in the last three years but that doesn't necessarily mean they will next year.
"We know we've got the individuals to catch them. We've got to trust the process, trust the programme and that Jurgen knows what he's doing."
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