It sounds like a George Clooney movie – Australia’s rowing eight go to the Paris Games as underdogs and race off with the gold medal. Senior correspondent Mike Osborne meets the Olympic champion who wants to make this plot a reality.
Fame awaits rower Alex Purnell and his crewmates if they can secure a slice of history, and maybe a Hollywood deal, at the Paris Olympics.
After winning gold in the four at the Tokyo 2020 Games, Purnell is stepping up to the men’s eight for Paris as Australia attempts to win its first Olympic title in the blue riband event.
Two teammates from the Tokyo “oarsome foursome”, Spencer Turrin and Jack Hargreaves, are joining Purnell in the mission to improve on the two silver medals won by Australia’s eight at Mexico 1968 and Sydney 2000.
Australia’s gamble to win the eight in Paris is drawing obvious comparisons to the George Clooney Hollywood blockbuster “The Boys in the Boat” which follows the US eight’s journey from underdogs to a gold medal at the 1936 Berlin Olympics.
Purnell said it was a hard decision not to defend his Olympic title in the men’s’ four in Paris, but he’s gunning for the new challenge.
“Australia’s never won an Olympic gold medal in the eight so there is the ambition to try to do that,” Purnell says.
“Since Tokyo the depth in the squad has grown stronger and there is an opportunity to put out a really competitive eight crew. The eight is considered a blue riband event in rowing and it’s exciting to be part of that. Australia haven’t medalled in the eight for 20 years. To even be on the dais will be pretty special.”
Purnell is hopeful the efforts of the Australian eight in Paris will inspire another fairy-tale film like “The Boys in the Boat”, which was directed by George Clooney and starred Australian Joel Edgerton as the coach.
“It will depend on the result, but maybe there might be a movie in it,” Purnell said.
Who would he like to play his role in the film? “I can’t say someone like Chris Hemsworth because I’m not built anything like that,” said the tall (195cm) and lean (88kg) Purnell.
“Maybe Jacob Elordi,” he said, referencing the young Australian who played rugby for Brisbane’s Nudgee College before beginning a successful acting career that has seen him nominated for a BAFTA award for his role in the film “Saltburn” and who played Elvis Presley in the biopic “Priscilla”.
Purnell liked “The Boys in the Boat” movie, which is based on the book by Daniel James Brown, crediting it as “pretty accurate on the technical stuff”.
“For us rowers it was weird to see a rowing movie make the cinemas,” he said. “We all sat down and watched it together and it’s a great story about building a successful crew.”
Purnell, who began his rowing career at Sydney’s Shore school and continued at the Sydney Uni Boat Club, is no stranger to the eight, having rowed with his Olympian brother Nicholas when he was younger.
“I rowed the eight with my older brother at state level representing NSW,” he said. “He was in the eight twice at the Olympics (London 2012 and Tokyo 2022). He’s been a really good mentor for me through the years.”
For Paris, Purnell will be in the fourth seat of the eight, part of the engine room between his Olympic four gold medal crewmates Turrin and Hargreaves.
“We are actually sitting right next to each other,” he said. “I’m the sandwich between the other two. That’ll bring a bit of cohesion to the crew and we can try to gel it together.
“That’s grunt stuff. But it’s also about making sure you extend the rhythm to the bow end of the boat that the stern is providing. And keeping a nice long stroke to be more effective. We’ve rowed together for a long time and we know how we operate and I think we can provide some experience for the whole crew.”
Purnell says it’s a common misconception that rowing is a sport dominated by upper body and arm strength.
“The legs are your primary driver on the rowing stroke, and you’ve got to balance technique and power,” he said. “The easier it looks the better you are rowing. It’s a total body sport and it goes for about six minutes and everything is screaming at you as you are going down the course.”
Purnell said the eight boat can reach speeds of 22-23 km/h, with the average for the 2000m race being just over 20km/h, a couple of kilometres per hour faster than the four.
The Australian four, which Purnell helped qualify for Paris by finishing fifth at the 2023 world championships, will defend that Olympic title with at least one of the Tokyo crew – Alexander Hill – in the boat.
That win for the four in Tokyo broke Australia’s run of three consecutive Olympic Silver medals and came 25 years after the Oarsome Foursome last won gold at Atlanta 1996, when they defended the title from Barcelona 1992.
It’s the style of repeated success Australia and Purnell would like to see replicated in the eight.
Standing – or in the case of rowing – sitting – in Australia’s way at the Paris Games are Great Britain, who have won the eight at the past two world championships. That includes beating the Australians into third at the 2023 world championships on the Paris Olympic course.
Purnell says the Dutch, who finished second at the 2023 world championships, will also be tough to beat.
“One thing we do know is that the race will be tight and exciting for everyone to watch,” said the 29-year old who hopes to also row at the next Olympics in LA 2028, but doubts he’ll be around for Brisbane 2032.
“Brisbane is a bit too far of a stretch. I‘ll be on the older side by then,” he said. “But it’s exciting for Australia to be hosting another Olympics.”
Come the 2032 Brisbane Games, Purnell expects to be working hard on his other career, in infrastructure advisory with Deloitte Australia.
“I’ve been really fortunate that they’ve given me an opportunity to work and pursue my career while continuing on with rowing,” he said.
“I think it’s important to have a plan after sport because a lot of people can struggle with the transition. I’ve been lucky to work with Deloittes because they’ve given me a career to look forward to.”
Unless of course Hollywood comes knocking.
Michael Osborne has been a journalist for more than four decades including 35 years with the national news agency Australian Associated Press, rising from junior reporter to Editor.
He was AAP Editor for 11 years and served four years as Head of Sport and Racing. He was also posted to London and Beijing as AAP’s Bureau Chief and Foreign Correspondent.
He has worked at six Olympics and five Commonwealth Games, covered tennis grand slams, golf majors, international cricket, rugby world cups and numerous sporting world championships. He also co-ordinated and managed AAP’s teams and coverage at three Olympic Games in Athens 2004, Beijing 2008 and London 2012.
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