Cool heads required for Haywood and men's quad at European Championships

Nottingham rower Matt Haywood called for cool heads as the rotating cast of Britain's men's quad stress-test a new combination into the European Championships. Haywood has successfully stepped into the boat that won a silver at the Tokyo Olympics' Britain's first Olympic medal in that event. Ad Jack Beaumont' Angus Groom and now Harry Leask have all retired from that history-making crew with Tom Barras the only man to pursue a second Olympics in Paris.

RowingBourne targets Paris Olympics after GB Rowing Team Trials triumph26/04/2023 AT 14:24 With Leask stepping away this winter' Callum Dixon is the latest to step into the breach and Haywood wants that change to inform expectations at the European Championships. «A medal is definitely the aim and that's what we're always going for'» said Haywood. «But it will be our first time racing as a crew and we've not been in the boat for very long.

»It will be good to see how we can progress through the regatta. If we can put together three solid races and say we've done our best' just needing to find some extra speed' then that's okay. «If you go in straight away and win gold medals' you've got nowhere to go.

Hopefully it can be a building block and if it isn't a medal' we can't walk away annoyed.» The European Championships will be held at Lake Bled' Slovenia from May 25-28. Haywood and George Bourne first stepped in for last year's Europeans in Munich' where the quad finished a disappointing fourth. So he knows exactly how Dixon — a former member of the British Sailing Team — is feeling ahead of his major Championship bow in the boat.

«Callum's brilliant'» said Haywood. «He's a very good athlete and he's got some good international experience. »He's got a really brilliant