Dara Alizadeh Thrilled To Qualify For Olympics
[Written by Stephen Wright]
Bermuda rower Dara Alizadeh says he is “over the moon” to have qualified for a second successive Olympic Games in Paris this summer.
Alizadeh, who competed in the single skulls at the Tokyo Olympics, needed to finish in the top five of the 19 contenders at the World Rowing Americas Regatta in Rio de Janeiro last weekend.
The 30-year-old entered the A final brimming with confidence after a storming final 150 metres to place third in his semi-final, delivering another impressive display in the qualification decider to finish fourth.
He admits his overriding emotion was relief after coming home less than a second to spare over Cuban Reidy Cardona Blanco, crossing the line in 7min 41.37sec.
“I was confident I would make it; I was on a roll [after the semis] and just had to keep the momentum going,” Alizadeh told Bernews.
“At the halfway mark, I was sitting in fourth position and looked over to my left and could see I was ahead of Cuba and Chile.
“It was a pretty stiff headwind, which makes it a challenge to make up a lot of ground. It’s like rowing through the mud.
“By the time I passed the line, my emotions were different from what I had envisioned.
“Sure, I was elated, but I wasn’t throwing my fist in the air like I’d imagined. I’d probably romanticised the hell out of it!
“It hasn’t sunk in yet. I’m still riding the high from those three days. I’m over the moon to have qualified again.”
Alizadeh believes he possibly emptied his emotional tank the previous day when he produced his personal best time of 6:53.29 to reach the final.
“It was do-or-die in the semis,” said Alizadeh, who helped Cambridge University to back-to-back wins in the Oxford-Cambridge Boat Race in 2018 and 2019.
“I needed a top-three finish. It was an exhilarating race – a seven-second personal best for me. It’s the best race I’ve ever had in the single.
“I was down in the first 1,800 metres, and it took a full sprint with 500 left to catch up to the guy in third.
“I passed him with 150 to go, with a second separating us, which isn’t much time. That was a big hurdle, and I was proud of my performance.”
While he admits he has not given much thought about his Olympic preparations, Alizadeh will hope to improve on his eighteenth-place finish in Tokyo when he races at the Vaires-sur-Maine Nautical Stadium, about 30 kilometres from Paris.
“I haven’t thought about Paris too much,” he added. “For two years, I haven’t thought beyond the qualifiers.
“I’ll do some domestic races in the UK, and the Henley Royal Regatta [in July] is possible. I’ll also race some of the World Rowing Cup series.”
