Today, Rowing Canada Aviron announced the appointment of two new National coaches - Bent Jensen and Carsten Hassing, both of Denmark.
"I believe that the greatest contribution a sport organization can give its athletes is excellent coaching," said Rowing Canada Aviron's High Performance Director, Alan Roaf. "The addition of Bent and Carsten to our already strong coaching staff supports Rowing Canada Aviron's commitment to excellence." This brings the total number of full-time coaches dedicated to Canada's national rowing team to six. (Mike Spracklen, Al Morrow, Laryssa Biesenthal and Terry Paul will remain in their current positions.)
Bent Jensen, 58, has been coaching since 1977, and was most recently the Head Coach for Denmark's Rowing Federation. Jensen will be the National Coach - Lightweight Men, based in Victoria, B.C.
"I'm very pleased to be coming to Canada to help the lightweight men prepare for a successful Olympics," said Jensen. "It's an opportunity to build on the program that has had some promising results in the past." Canada did make the finals in the lightweight four in Athens, but has not medaled in this event since 1996. The lightweight men's quad (a non-Olympic event) picked up a bronze this year at the World Championships.
Jensen is acknowledged to be the foremost lightweight rowing coach in the world. He is best known for coaching the Danish lightweight men's four to World and Olympic medals including a gold in Atlanta in 1996, a bronze in Sydney in 2000 and a gold in Athens in 2004.
Jensen is part of an elite group who have been named Coach of the Year (1998) by FISA, the International Rowing Federation - an honour that two of Canada's coaches (Al Morrow in 1999 and Mike Spracklen in 2002) have also received.
Joining Jensen will be fellow Dane Carsten Hassing, 39, who will be coaching in the women's program. Hassing has also worked for the Danish federation for the last three Olympic cycles - qualifying crews for the finals in each Games, and has coached nine world-level medalling crews since 1993. He will begin work at the London (Ontario) Training Centre as National Coach - Senior Women.
Said Hassing: "It is a great challenge and opportunity for me, working together with Al Morrow (National Coach - Development Women), to make a strong women's team, and get the Canadian women back to the podium at World Championships and the Olympics again."
It is expected that Jensen and Hassing will commence their coaching duties by late March 2006.