1) Name: Alex
Surname: Partridge
Place and year of birth: San Francisco, California, 25/01/1981
Training location:Caversham Training Centre UK
Home club: Leander Club

2) When and why did you begin rowing?
I first started rowing at Monkton Combe School. I wanted to stay fit and strong for the rugby, and rowing seemed the best way to keep in god shape in the summer months.

3) What are the best and worst things about this sport?
The best things about rowing are the friends that you make. Rowing has allowed me to meet and make many friends with many people from around the world. The other great thing about rowing is that incredible feeling. That you get when a bout is going really fast and it finally crosses the finish line first. The worst thing about rowing is any ergo training session first thing in the morning, or the pain after the first weights session of the season.

4) Who has been the greatest inspiration to you in the world of rowing?
My greatest inspiration when I was a young rower was Matthew Pinsent and Steve Redgrave when they won the Olympics in 1996. It was that race that made me decide that going and winning the Olympic games was my dream. When I finally made it into the international team, James Cracknell was the man who inspired me the most.

5) What are your secret ambitions both in and outside of rowing?
My ambition in rowing is to win the Olympic Games in London. For me my whole rowing career has been about that moment, but I am sure that it is the same ambition for everyone competing internationally in our sport. Which is why it is so difficult but in the end so rewarding. Outside of rowing I hope that I can apply my driven personality and desire to succeed to the business world. At the moment I am competing a part time MBA at the Henley business school. Where this will lead me I have no idea yet. I will hopefully cross that bridge when I come to it, and when I can turn my sole focus away from trying to achieve success in London 2012.

6) You find an old blade washed up on the banks of Lucerne. As you wipe it clean, the “Genie of Lucerne” appears and offers you three wishes to improve rowing in your country. What would you wish for?
1. A lake like Varese in Caversham so that we can row more than 2km in one direction
2. No wind
3. An endless supply of sports massage ladies to help with recovery after training.

7)Would you encourage your children to row?
I have just had baby girl and at the moment I would have to say I woiuld prefer it if she were interested in sports that made more money like golf or tennis. But I do believe that the lessons you learn about teamwork, discipline, and exploring the boundaries of what you believe your body is capable of, in rowing are invaluable and every child should try it for a season.

8) Which is the most beautiful place that you have rowed and where would you most like to row?
For the most beautiful place I have ever rowed I thin kit would have to be a tie between Lac d’Aiguebelette, France, and Lake Bled In Slovenia. For places I would like most to row I hear there is a fantastic race in Sardinia, with a great celebration afterwards. One day I would like to take part in this, perhaps after the Olympics.

8+) + If you could ask someone from the world of rowing a question, what would it be and to whom? We will do our best to ask them on your behalf!
I think I would ask the New Zealand pair what they are doing in training to make them go so fast? Or one day it would be nice to ask Drew Ginn if he like to go for a row, just to see what it felt like.

Chiare e fresche Idee by LOEX:-Settore Comunicazione Attiva.