WORDS RACHEL QUARRELL
PHOTOGRAPHY IGOR MEIJER/WORLD ROWING
Without an orange-clad swimmer in sight, the Dutch nevertheless ruled the waves in Belgrade this summer, opening their account with a staggering ten medals, all in Olympic or Paralympic events. Four of those bits of metalware came from the seven fours they entered, their top two women’s fours doubling up to win gold and silver in the small-boat event then dominating the eights. Meanwhile the Dutch men’s squad concentrated on four fours rather than bothering with an eight, which will be their 2018 end-game. A strong list of 41 countries entered, including China, whose new performance director Sir Steve Redgrave has them training hard in Spain.