So proud of our young rowers

Published 6 Aug 2009 09:00 0 Comments

THE looks on their faces said it all.

More than 103 days at sea, countless storms, constant hunger and the sheer effort of rowing nearly 4,000 miles could not beat the drive and willpower of James Thysse and Jamie Facer-Childs, the 22-year-old friends who met at Reading Blue Coat School and have gone on to break a world record.

The Indian Ocean Rowing Race was by no means the only charity challenge we have covered in the Chronicle this year, but it was surely one of the toughest and the lads' plaudits are well-earned. As is their holiday on tropical Mauritius, since they got there from Australia using only elbow grease!

It has been a year with more than enough bad news, but some have shone a light all the way through it - those happy to get their hands dirty, get their boots on, climb a little higher, ride a little longer, row a little faster, to push themselves to the limit to prove they can do it, to raise a small fortune for charity and inspire the rest of us along the way.

And it can only warm our hearts that James and Jamie broke the world record to become the youngest ever to conquer the Indian Ocean. Mother Nature and Lady Luck conspired against them the entire way, blowing them off course, capsizing their boat and breaking their equipment but they never gave up.

In this month of SATs, GSCEs and A-level results, let's look forward to some of our other youngsters breaking a few more records along the way.

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