Coleraine's Olympic dreams shattered
Tuesday, 19 August 2008
COLERAINE'S three top oarsmen had their Olympic dreams dashed at the weekend as their attempts for a podium finish were too far out of reach.
There was no gold for Alan Campbell in the men's sculls 2000m singles final in Beijing on Saturday after he finished fifth, but the former Coleraine Inst schoolboy has vowed to be ready for another gold challenge in London 2012.
And on Sunday morning, Richard Chambers and the British crew finished fifth in the lightweight fours rowing final.
Fellow Coleraine man Richard Archibald missed out on the lightweight fours final as the Irish boat finished a distant fourth in the semi-finals on Friday morning, ending his Olympic involvement.
Archibald has said he now plans to retire from the sport after Beijing.
Alan Campbell can certainly hold his head high after his performance in Saturday morning's final, defying all the odds to make the last six considering he missed five weeks of training after a knee operation.
And while the 25-year-old started strongly in the final and was second near the halfway mark, he faded in the latter stages as Olympic champion Olaf Tufte clinched gold for a second time.
It was always going to be a struggle for 25-year-old Campbell whose preparations were disrupted two months ago when he required surgery for a knee infection.
So it proved and, though he dug in, he finished in a time of 7.04.47, almost five seconds behind the winner, Norwegian, Plaf Tufte clinched gold for a second time. Afterwards, Campbell said he was not despondent, but did feel empty.
"I did my best, I am proud and I can hold my head up high," he said.
"I did feel strong and I did feel confident through the start, but I just did not have enough in the end."
Campbell was defiant as well.
"This is not the last you have seen off me. I will be working hard from now until London 2012. This was not me at my full capacity. It is tough, but I will train harder. I will be 29 when London comes around, I have time on my side."
Campbell said he was proud to be from Northern Ireland.
