Rowing is in good hands as Rolland serves his apprenticeship before taking up the oars

By Nick Butler

Nick Butler Olympic Stadium 2 July 24 2013 1

In recent years there has been a penchant for athlete administrators in sport, but in the case of Jean-Christophe Rolland he is merely following tradition in a rowing organisation that is oozing with ex-sportsmen.

First there was Thomas Keller, who served as President for 31 years until his death in 1989. Also an accomplished skier, Keller won a rowing bronze medal at the 1950 European Championships and only missed out on competing at the Melbourne 1956 Olympics because of the Swiss boycott protesting the Soviet invasion of Hungary. Then there was triple Olympian Denis Oswald, who won a bronze medal, also for Switzerland, at Mexico City in 1968.

It is he who Rolland has been elected to replace when Oswald steps down, after 24 years in charge, next July after an initial "transferral" period.

It must surely be a daunting task to take over from two men who have cumulatively ruled for 55 years - and indeed for a whole decade before Rolland was even born. Yet, rather like that one infuriating pupil at school, Rolland combines good looks and Gallic charm with intelligence, sporting talent and the ability to seemingly succeed at anything he turns his hand to.

After first starting rowing in his home town of Lyon - he has been a member of the same Aviron Union Nautique de Lyon club since 1982 - he spent his year's military service training for the Barcelona 1992 Olympics, in which he finished fourth. He then won bronze in Atlanta four years later before taking a memorable gold at Sydney in 2000.

Following the completion of his engineering masters degree, Rolland spent a decade as an engineer with EDF before shifting to the marketing department in time to manage the companies sponsorship programme of the London 2012 Olympic Games. By this point he had also rapidly risen up the echelons of power at FISA, serving on both the Council and the Executive Board before Oswald set him up as his appointed successor.

Jean-Christophe Rolland combined his Olympic rowing success with business and administrative roles ©Getty Images

Becoming President was not, however, something toward which he has always aspired.

"It was not something I had in mind 20 years ago," the Frenchman told insidethegames. "I started working for FISA as an Athletes' Commission member because I had ideas and wanted to share them and to give something back to my sport. Then I became President of the Commission so a member of the Council, then I was elected to the Executive Committee and eventually Denis [Oswald] announced 'we have to think about future because one day I will have to leave.'

"So it's not something I had planned for a long time, but just an opportunity to which I will commit to with all my effort and energy."

This image of modesty and humbleness combined with genuine passion was something which resonated throughout our meandering one hour discussion - in a back room of one of London's plusher Dining Clubs in the aftermath of the Parmigiani Spirit Awards. In fact, so keen was Rolland to talk, frequently and unnecessarily apologising for his perfect English, that by the time we finally re-emerged it was to find an empty restaurant.

The next boss of the sport was then left to rather unceremoniously hail a taxi to rejoin the long departed FISA entourage.

A man clearly not given to illusions of grandeur this was all taken effortlessly in his stride and he is taking a similar approach to his new role. Despite admitting the advantage of a sporting background, Rolland is being anything but complacent about the journey ahead.

"Obviously, it is a leadership role and it is not about being a good athlete - but it is a good dimension because it is how to be connected. As part of the election I met a lot of delegates and they were proud to put at the head of our organisation a former athlete.

"But to be really honest, it is a huge challenge to become President and to assume such a role.

"So I will be very, very humble. I have a lot to learn. I am quite young to assume such a role and I know where I'm standing now. I need to build and to climb step by step and I have committed obviously during the campaign to do my best and to give my time, energy and passion to my sport.

"I have to work and improve and will make the most of the coming months with Denis to ensure the most efficient transition."

JJean-Christophe Rolland speaks with fellow Olympic champions Andrew Triggs Hodge, Mahé Drysdale and Martin Cross, as well as Parmigiani Spirit Award winner James Cook ©World Rowing

So what ideas does he have for the future?

Continuing the rise in participation levels is unsurprisingly a key dimension.

When Oswald first became President there were 66 national federations affiliated to FISA in comparison with today's 142, Benin, Botswana, Mali, Saudi Arabia, and St Vincent and the Grenadines were all added in 2013, while 101 of these members participated in the qualification process for London 2012.

However, Rolland is keen to target not just participation and "figures on a sheet of paper" but performance within these countries. He emphasises there is not "one single recipe to develop rowing" and solutions depend on the region in question. What is needed in South America - where there is a long history of rowing and some resources but problems with coordination, coaching and competition - is different from what is required in Africa and Asia, he explained.

But to highlight the improvements that are being made, Rolland speaks of the 2012 gold medal for South Africa in the lightweight coxless four.

"This is absolutely fantastic and I am really looking forward to more and more countries getting medals at Championships," he explained.

South Africa breaking the traditional powerhouses at London 2012 was good for the sport, Rolland claims ©Getty Images

At a more general perspective he sees the most important thing as keeping rowing accessible to the young generation.

"Boys and girls today have so many possibilities in sport and other things like digital technology. If we want to remain an Olympic sport we have to ensure that we adapt to the environment, and this environment is really moving fast."

He believes that this is easier in Britain because of the tradition in place, but harder in an international sense.

"Rowing is about precision and doing the same thing at the same time with teammates so it's not like ball sports because the notion of pleasure comes after an initial period of experiment and understanding."

He also explains that there are many projects to develop rowing in schools and especially in disadvantaged areas where, Rolland admits, students would previously have never had access to the sport.

"We have really succeeded in getting rowers from all social classes through projects like London Youth Rowing. They learn about how to connect to the sport, then a little like a hook, they move to the next stage of the water."

Is it fair to consider rowing as an elitist sport, I venture, anticipating perhaps a strong rebuttal. "Yes, for two reasons," Rolland replies, with characteristic honesty.

This is because "traditionally rowing is an old sport" and because "it has this link with university so with elite people." However, he adds that "nowadays and especially here in Britain, if you look at what rowing has put in place it extends far beyond the university field", before listing the aforementioned development programmes.

Perhaps in a nod to his own success, as well as to the university complexion of the event at which he was speaking, he simultaneously put forward the importance of athletes combining sport and work and, even in today's world, of balancing these two strands of life.

"For me from the very beginning the balance was absolutely crucial," he explained. "Even if you are at the top of your sport, it takes huge investment, dedication, passion and a lot of work, but I think it's really important you have something besides to balance what you put for your sport. This is especially for a sport like rowing because we are not professional, and we cannot live with our sport."

He concedes that rowers may receive more funding today than in his day but they "still have to think about their future".

"We have so many difficult cases when athletes focused 100 per cent on sport that the day they stop, because of a deliberate decision or injury, they don't know what will be next stage. In my case it was absolutely natural - I decided to close a chapter of sporting career, but had already started a new book so it was easy to continue in my professional life."

Rolland expressed the importance of working with national federations in this regard. "This is because it is not purely about having athletes because they are performing, and the day they are not in the team we don't care any more, but it is also about their integration for the future," he explained. In many countries such schemes are already in place, he believes, but it is something that he will also work to develop further.

Programmes like London Youth Rowing give opportunities to youngsters from many different backgrounds...as well as to combine training with educational schemes ©Sport England

Another running theme of our discussion is a focus on looking "outside" the sport as well as "inside" at the athletes and federations. On several occasions he speaks about the aim of preserving the sport's Olympic status. The thought of rowing not in the Olympics appears outlandish, but wrestling probably felt the same way before its omission, and then its return, over the last year.

"It's a lot about relations, connecting with people and organisations," Rolland told insidethegames.

"Obviously, I have committed to having close relations with all the federations and all our members because it is important to remain connected to the routes.

"But most importantly because - as I said - we are in competition with other sports, the crucial element for our sport is to remain an Olympic sport and to do so we need to be connected with the International Olympic Committee (IOC) world, the sports world, and you have to ensure that you are involved with the process and the people."

A new face he may be but he clearly realises the workings and unpredictability of the Olympic Movement.

He speaks about securing deals with companies and winning partnerships, such as the one with watchmakers Parmigiani. He believes that being an Olympic champion will "probably help in building relations with key stakeholders", while having a fellow gold medallist as the new IOC President, in former fencer Thomas Bach, is an advantage as "both are part of a small group of Olympic athletes".

Even when the issue of drugs and corruption comes up - as it invariably does in an interview with any new sport boss - Rolland brings back this same point about reassurance to persevere Olympic membership.

In terms of match-fixing, Rolland is "aware and careful" but also confident that this "is not a big issue". In terms of doping, however, he concedes some cases, and accepts that there may be future ones as well, but trusts that "probably 99.9 per cent of athletes" have no intention of doing drugs.

This appears a fair point. There have been cases, with Olga Samulenkova's testosterone scandal - which cost the Russian quad scull their gold medal at the 2006 World Championships - a stand out example. But Rolland sees athletes as at the forefront of a clean sport.

"As a former athlete I am really proud about how strong the athletes are to fight against doping. They are always the first to say we want a strong rule and they are in favour of being really strong against cheaters. It is really important that we are a leading federation in the fight against doping.

"Even if we are not that much affected it must remain at the top of the agenda because, if it doesn't, it could put in danger our core values."

There were two final subjects where Rolland spoke about with a passion unmatched elsewhere in the interview. The first of these was London 2012.

The atmosphere, and whole rowing event at London 2012 was "exceptional and amazing", says Rolland ©Getty Images

"To make it short, London 2012 was absolutely fantastic and for many reasons," Rolland says, leaning forward in his chair to reinforce his enthusiasm.

"British success made a huge difference in atmosphere and, because of the crowd, the feeling you had during rowing finals was amazing. I still feel it now - it was exceptional and amazing. But everything was fantastic, not only for rowing but for the Games as a whole. I can say that, not just as a rowing official, but working with the organisers with my company I had a chance to experience the Games from another angle.

"It was a lot of work and I must say I was worried at the time about some aspects, but in the end - what a success."

The second cause for Rolland's passion was his predecessor Oswald. "What Denis has done in the last 24 years is amazing," he says with genuine warmth.

"He was an outstanding President not only for what he has done for our sport but for outside our sport.

"He is recognised as an expert and, as such, because of his positions in the sports world: IOC member since 1991, head of the Summer Olympic Federations (ASOIF), lawyer, he has been representing our sport and that is why rowing is recognised as a fantastic sport - in terms of governance - the reputation FISA has nowadays is due to him."

Rolland is forthright in admitting that he is "a bit afraid about succeeding" and that he has "a lot of work ahead" to ensure he can give to rowing what Denis has given us. At this point, and rather wisely, he refuses to predict whether his length of service will match up to those of his two predecessors.

He has "a lot of issues on the table to deal with" and "what will happen to me in four years is not my preoccupation at this time".

"My preoccupation is about my vision for the sport and of maintaining our position within the Olympic movement," he asserts.

A good conclusion to a good performance, I thought.

With his experience, honesty and passion and apparent immunity to failure I would not suggest that too many problems lie ahead. Being able to navigate London's taxi system is an additional skill which adds yet another string to Rolland's bow.

Nick Butler is a reporter for insidethegames. To follow him on Twitter click here