Egypt took third in the World Cup of rowing thanks to a closely-knit team. Nashwa Abdel-Tawab looks at a precision performance Click to view caption In the heats at the World Cup of rowing in Hazewinkel, Belgium, Egypt found itself in an unusual position: in front, while Olympic champion Britain was at a wholly unaccustomed place, right at the back. Ultimately, Egypt could not keep it up but finished a respectable third in what is perhaps the most prestigious event on water, the eight event. For some, the achievement is not surprising since Egypt invented rowing. It was the main form of transportation on the Nile back when the pyramids were being built. But it did not become an official sport until Britain reintroduced it to the country at the turn of the century. Seven thousand years later, the Egyptians are again showing their skills, managing to hold off Italy and Croatia to take third place behind rowing superpowers Germany and world champions Romania at the first of three World Cup phases for 2002. Other Egyptian teams did not come close to the eight. In the men's single event, Mohamed Abdel-Ghaffar came eighth. The coxed four came 10th and the coxless four finished in 11th, down from their sixth place finish in the same event last year. But at the awards ceremony, the failings were overshadowed by the achievement of the crew of eight which wore broad smiles as their supporters went wild. Most of the eight -- something of a misnomer for there are actually nine men aboard, eight oarsmen and one coxswain -- are familiar with the international rowing scene. Ali Ibrahim took sixth place in the skiff in the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta and a silver medal in the 1995 world championship. Ibrahim took a break from the single to experience the team aspect of the sport. Tarek Hamed was part of the coxless four that came 12th at the Sydney 2000 Olympics and seventh in 2001. Two other members of the coxless, Kamal Hassan Abdel-Rehim and Sameh Hassan, also joined to become the eight. The rest of the crew, Mohamed El-Sanadili, Mustafa Abdel-Gawwad, Mohamed Mohsen and Hamdi El-Qott, were either members of last year's eight that came ninth at the world championships, or are new to the international scene, like coxswain Magdi Farrag. At 20 years old, Farrag is the youngest member of the team. By comparison the oldest, last rower Ibrahim, is 29. They came together only a month ago, under the tutelage of Ukraine head coach Dimitri Riaboukha, after they were selected to represent their country. So sudden was their selection that the government wrote to their employers and universities asking whether they could have three months off or if they could be allowed to sit for their exams upon their return. The crew is training at the World Cup venue in Hazewinkel until the next phase of the World Cup Regatta in Lucerne in mid-July. "This will be especially important for the eight," said Khaled Zaineddin, president of the Egyptian Rowing Federation. "Rowing and coxing on the Nile prevents them from mastering how to row in a straight line, like a buoyed course."
