I want Saudi rowers to burst onto the world scene, says coach Mat Tarrant

LONDON: Against the backdrop of Saudi Arabia’s sweeping, sun-drenched deserts, Mat Tarrant faces a monumental challenge to develop elite rowers capable of competing on the global stage.

Yet the Saudi Rowing Federation’s performance director and head coach is spearheading a rowing revolution in the Kingdom against all the odds.

The historic appearance of the country’s first rowing Olympian Husein Alireza at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics fueled Tarrant’s belief that Saudi Arabia has the potential for greatness.

But, as the British double world champion told Arab News, transforming a rowing minnow into an established force will take time and relentless commitment.

“I think my passion overruns sometimes,” Tarrant said as he prepared for this month’s Asian Games in Hangzhou, China. “I don’t know how to take any time off for myself. I don’t tend to go on holidays.

“If I take a rest day, I end up just walking to my desk and I sit there all day, analyzing data, putting annual plans together, always trying to think ahead and think about what’s next. But I love what I do. I’m incredibly fortunate to be in this position.”

Tarrant, 33, who hung up his oars following the Tokyo Olympics, started his role in July 2022 and moved to Jeddah two months later.

For several years before this, though, he had been writing training programs for Saudi Rowing’s former president, Mohammad Hadhrawi, and four other fledgling rowers: Alireza, Sultan Al-Shali, Kariman Abuljadayel and Alia Komsany.

Tarrant fortuitously met Hadhrawi on the sidelines of the 2018 World Indoor Rowing Championships in London, where he was promoting his online coaching company RowElite.

The Saudi Rowing Federation was in its infancy then, with its five rowers eager to