A Comparative Analysis in the Development Pathway of Women Olympic Rowers Shows How We often Release our Stars Before their Peak in Iran.

Mostafa Sarabzadeh---Olympic Section

Mostafa Sarabzadeh [WomenSportPress---Olympic Section] we all know talent identification and development (TID) describes the process of an athlete moving into, and progressing up, the high sport performance pathway to a mastery class.

Not every country sport system can follow all these framework principles in order for athletes to end their career at the time when had already reached their peak athletic performance. One of the best and recent examples to prove this, is the one known as sea's daughter---Nazanin Malaei. The one who stole the show in Olympic Tokyo through a historical performance, and supposed to be at her peak for further Olympics, but regrettably, will be watching Olympic Paris 2024 from home for the lack of support required.

Looking at the Athlete Development Pathway of some olympic champions in Rowing Women's Single Sculls while comparing it with what we’ve had to support our olympian rower---Nazanin Malaei---we would find the remarkable difference that might have played a role in our rower’s career. 

Nazanin Malaei

If you as many sea sport fans in Asia wonder how a 6 time asian championship gold medalist, 4 time silver and 3 time bronze asian championship & games medalist, disconnected from elite sport while all she is focusing on now is cooking sea dishes in her lovely city---Bandar-e Anzali, Gilan province, Iran---in the time we have only 49 days to Paris 2024 Olympics, this is your article to read.

Nazanin, 32 years old, grew up in a city---Anzali---where rowing is so common. Her mother really wanted her to be a rower so swimming courses was the first thing she entered, opposed to her interests of martial arts.

It did not take much time until a French coach found her shocking endurance talent through school physical fitness tests. It was the start of our stubborn fighter’s journey (this is what many kept calling her since her childhood) to elite rowing.  

Figure 1. Line graph of Nazanin Malaei’s medals in Asian championship & Asian games

Takeaways: 1. Elite sport career length is 8 years, started at her 23 and ended at her 31 years old. 2.  An all-throughout upward curve line for the number of gold medals achieved. 3. The more time goes, the more gold medals replaced with silver and bronze. 4. The athlete’s performance analysis derived by this line graph along with the historical performance she has left in Rowing Women's Single Sculls final B, Olympic 2021 Tokyo, show how Iran lost Nazanin’s best potential athletic performance not only in Olympic 2024 Paris, but also in upcoming events afterward. 5. Olympic appearances: one while our graph shows it could be three.

Emma Twigg

She was born on 1987, in Napier, New Zealand. Her father was a rowing coach, inspired her to step in elite rowing. So she began rowing for her school and also for the Hawke’s Bay Rowing Club aged 14 in 2001.

Increadible Emma, 37, seven-time world championship and one time olympic gold medalist will head to a record fifth Olympic Games at Paris, 16 years after her first. Her story is an inspiration for many young athletes as she carried the consistent form for as long as 16 years, improved her records all the way up to a gold medal in Olympic 2021 Tokyo, after three previous Olympic appearances where she had ended with no medal and also after a two-year temporary retirement between 2016 to 2018.

Figure 2. Line graph of Emma Twigg’s medals in world championship games.

Figure 3. Line graph of Emma Twigg’s ranks in olympic games.

Takeaways: 1. Elite sport career length is 16 years, started at her 19 years old and still continues at 37. 2. The more time goes, the more bronze medals replaced with silver, and then silver replaced with gold medals until 2016 (figure 2) prior to the athlete’s two-year temporary retirement. 3. An upward shift in the number of silver medals is shown between 2018 and 2022, where the athlete’s first ever Olympic medal (gold) happened (figure 2). 4. Figure 3 also Illustrated athlete's progress of Olympic performances over four consecutive Olympics. 5. Olympic appearances: four and will expectantly be five soon.

Magdalena Lobnig

Magdalena Lobnig, 37, is an Austrian rower who was born in Sankt Veit an der Glan, Austria. She is eight-time european and world championship and one time olympic medalist who recently secured her ticket to the Olympic 2024 Paris.

Magdalena's resilience has always been admirable and that is why her commitment to upcoming Olympic dreams remains unshaken even after facing a recent sudden injury called disc herniation which may bring a setback to every athlete’s path.  She refused surgery but determined to defy the limitations of her injury through her unwavering dedication and perseverance in 49 days left to Olympic 2024 Paris.

Figure 4. Line graph of Magdalena Lobnig’s medals in european / world championship games.

Figure 5. Line graph of Magdalena Lobnig’s ranks in olympic games.

Takeaways: 1. Elite sport career length is 13 years, started in 2011 with two bronze and gold U23 world championship medals (not presented in our graph) and still continues at her 33. 2. Figure 4 shows an improved performance up to her european championship gold in 2016 and two back to back world championship bronze medals in years afterward, followed with the athlete’s first ever olympic medal (bronze) in Olympic 2021 Tokyo. 3. Olympic appearances: two and will expectantly be three soon.

Victoria Thornley

Victoria is an 36 years old Welsh rower who was born in St Asaph but grew up in Wrexham, started her rowing career with a world U23 championship gold medal in 2009.

During her amazing journey of elite rowing, Victoria has always been close to cling a gold medal in three olympics she participated. Anyway, she retired after Olympic 2021 Tokyo to end her career with this one of the biggest regrets of her life---an Olympic GOLD.

Figure 6. Line graph of Victoria Thornley’s medals in european / world championship games.

Figure 7. Line graph of Victoria Thornley’s ranks in olympic games.

Takeaways: 1. Elite sport career length is 12 years, started in 2011 with a bronze world championship medal 2. Figure 6 then shows an improved performance up to her european championship gold in 2017 and her first ever olympic medal (silver) in Olympic 2016 Rio. 3. Olympic appearances: three.

Table 1. A Summary statistics of Development Pathway in Women Olympic Rowers.

Conclusion: this article focused on evidence-based data challenges Iranian sport system and its talent and development framework governed by National Olympic Committee of Iran, to find answers for the questions below:

·         Why Nazanin malaei should quit from elite sport at her performance peak (figure 1) ?

·         Why Nazanin malaei’s sport career length should be only as low as 8 years?

·         Why Nazanin malaei should have participated one olympic with as much as 13 Asian championship medals, which is rarely happened for other her asian rivals?

………………………………..

More works on:

IWsport

Boxscorenews

Youtube channel: Mostafa Sarabzadeh