Five of the seven British milers sponsored by New Balance were recently in the premises formerly known as Wapping Hydraulic Power Station and now referred to simply as the Wapping Project. Among spotlit shoes resting on gobbets of Victorian cast iron machinery, Andy Baddeley, Tom Lancashire, Colin McCourt, James Brewer and Ricky Stevenson all spoke about their rising hopes in a year when they will be contending for the three 1,500 metre places available at the home Games along with all the other elite British milers elsewhere.

So for all the camaraderie on the night, each of these talented runners knew it would very soon be a case of Every Man for Himself. It's not an easy position to hold – but, unless you are a relay runner, you have it easier as an athlete than as a rower.

As Britain's elite male and female rowers gird themselves for the GB Rowing team senior trials on the Olympic course at Eton Dorney the weekend after next (March 10-11) they face an even more testing predicament of competing in pairs against friends and rivals, knowing that even the friend with whom they are temporarily paired for the trials – the scullers simply have the prospect of racing alone against their mates – could turn out to be a rival once the team management begin their ruthlessly effective process of coordinating the best of British rowers into the most effective of British crews.

"Our rowers are very familiar with the venue," says David Tanner, the GB Rowing team's performance director. "The event is one of the toughest of the whole calendar, though, when they have to race against their teammates and friends."


Men's chief coach Jürgen Grobler, who has specifically overseen three successive Olympic victories in the men's coxless four starting with the famed quartet of Steve Redgrave, Matt Pinsent, James Cracknell and Tim Foster (pictured) at the Sydney 2000 Games, comments: "The trials are all about showing you can race under pressure when it counts."

As Grobler likes to say at this stage of a big competitive year:  "there are no names under seats". Everything is to play for, and if even the most successful rowers show signs of human fallibility, they can find themselves being dropped quicker than a morally questionable United States Presidential candidate.

When Pinsent and Cracknell could only finish fourth in defending their world pairs championship, they found themselves ruthlessly reassigned to the four for the Athens 2004 Olympics. Many observers of the sport envisage a similar move this year following the frustrating failure of Andy Triggs Hodge and Pete Reed, fours gold medallists in 2008, to dislodge the Kiwi pair who currently dominate their event, Eric Murray and Hamish Bond.

Triggs Hodge and Reed won last year's GB trials, but even if they repeat that to secure what will be Triggs Hodge's seventh successive trials win, they will not feel sure of their continuation as a pair in London 2012.

Official crew selection deadline is April 4, although the lay of the land – or rather, the drift of the tide – will be known before then by the relevant parties.


And as you might expect, the British four who currently hold the world title – Alex Gregory, Tom James, Ric Egington and Matthew Langridge (pictured) – will be awaiting Grobler's emerging strategy with interest.

Gregory admits the trials are draining. "It is the hardest time of the year for me," he said during a teleconference arranged by the British Olympic Association (BOA). "It is so easy to go out and race against the Australians or the Germans – that is what you are supposed to do.

"But when it comes to racing your friends and teammates, that's tough. One day you have to race against them, and the next you have to team up with them to take on the world.

"As a group of people we are all very sympathetic to each other. We all know what it's like for each other. When all the racing is done, some guys are going to get into the crew, and some aren't."

Gregory was a close second in the trials last year paired with James. This year his partner is Alex Partridge, a world eights silver medallist from 2011. James, an Olympic gold medallist along with Triggs Hodge, Reed and the now retired Steve Williams in 2008, is paired with Egington.


Meanwhile Greg Searle, Olympic coxed pairs champion with brother Jonny back in 1992 and a world silver medallist in the eights last year at the age of 39, is paired once again with Cameron Nicol, with whom he came third last time round, while the up and coming Constantine Louloudis and George Nash (pictured) will be seeking to improve upon last year's fourth place.

Gregory is not speculating directly on the way things will turn out in the four.

"I'm sure Jürgen has much more of an idea about it, but he doesn't tell us what his inner feelings are," he says. But he clearly expects changes.

"Last year we had a perfect year, really," he says. "We had a great crew and we won every race we did. It was probably my most enjoyable year of rowing.

"But once the World Championships are finished the slate is wiped clean. I won't be surprised if the crew is different this year. The main priority is to make it as fast as possible for London 2012. And I just want to be in the top boat, whatever the crew will be.

"At the moment it looks like the four will be the lead boat. There is no question about it – I want to be in the top boat, whatever boat is Jürgen's boat.

"He has got a huge history of success with his methods, he's proved his coaching ability over so many years now, and I want to be coached by him in an Olympic year.

"It is also a boat with a glorious history for Britain – the coxless four has taken three successive Olympic golds, so to be in the crew that earned a fourth gold would be really exciting, and to do that on a home course would be even more incredible."

Gregory narrowly missed out on Olympic selection four years ago but went to Beijing as a reserve and watched all the action from the stands.

He describes that experience as "a turning point" in his rowing career.


"In many ways it was a frustrating experience, and it came after a long run of injuries and disappointments for me," he says. "But sitting on the sidelines and watching the guys I had trained and raced with collecting their medals made me feel even more committed to the sport.

"When I used to be asked about my ambition, I always used to say it was to win an Olympic gold medal. That's what you say, isn't it? But I know now what the Games feel like, and I have experienced that atmosphere and emotion.

"When Mark Hunter won the lightweight double scull gold with Zac Purchase (pictured), I was sitting right behind his brother and his dad and I saw how much it meant to them. They had tears streaming down their faces and they were hugging each other – I can feel myself welling up right now just thinking about it.

"That made me realise what it would mean to my family and friends if I could win an Olympic gold."

First, though, Gregory has to get his head around the idea of killing off that ambition for a couple of his mates. Who will be trying to do the same to him.

Mike Rowbottom, one of Britain's most talented sportswriters, has covered the past five Summer and four Winter Olympics for The Independent. Previously he has worked for the Daily Mail, The Times, The Observer, the Sunday Correspondent and The Guardian. He is now chief feature writer for insidethegames. Rowbottom's Twitter feed can be accessed here.