Alan Sinclair wants to give his home crowd something to celebrate when the European Championships come to Glasgow on August 2.
Rowing is part of a seven-sport schedule for the unique event and Sinclair, who raced at Glasgow’s Strathclyde Park as a junior, is hoping to be part of a victorious Great Britain boat.
Athletics, aquatics, swimming, golf, gymnastics and triathlon will also feature in the 10-day competition, with hundreds of medals to be distributed to athletes from all across the continent.
Inverness rower Sinclair will be part of Great Britain’s men’s eight, with the heats on the opening Thursday and the final on Sunday 5. It presents a unique opportunity for Sinclair, with international events on the rowing calendar scarcely held on these shores.
Sinclair said: “I can’t think of anything bigger that would be in Glasgow. We don’t have a Commonwealth Games in rowing and I can’t imagine there will be a World Championship there. From what I can see, it’s the best chance of having the biggest race at Strathclyde Park and we want to make sure we come away with something.
“I have fond and bitter memories of Strathclyde Park – most of the bitter ones are from my junior years as I got beat all the time. But to compete in the blue-ribbon event in front of friends and family will be all the more special. Hopefully we’ll be able to put on a bit of a show for the spectators in Glasgow and show the city and Scotland in an awesome light.
“How much awareness we’ll have of the other sports will be interesting. It’s a really cool idea that hasn’t been done before, so hopefully it’s successful and not a one-off. I’d like to see Glasgow and Scotland get behind all seven sports that are competing.”
The eight recorded back-to-back second places in the first two World Cup events of the season, in Belgrade and Linz, including a win over world-record holders Germany in the repechage in Austria.
Sinclair was disappointed with his Henley Regatta, where he rowed for his club Leander, but feels the boat is in good shape to challenge the Germans again in Glasgow.
He said: “We’ve got a good mix in the boat and it’s starting to develop it’s character, now it’s more settled as a unit. There’s strength in the collective and it’s going well at the moment.”
