Autumn’s Second Season

Coach Mantell in conversation

^{Words: Tom Ransley / Photos: Benedict Tufnell}

"I wasn’t sure I’d be on form after yesterday,” says an on-form Autumn Mantell, Cambridge University Boat Club’s (CUBC) Women’s Assistant Coach, who in her first year at Cambridge led their reserve crew Blondie to victory in the 2022 Women’s Reserve Race.

Mantell is recovering from whiplash and a sore back after a car accident. “It could have been worse; everyone was lucky not to get too hurt.” But she still travelled to Putney to watch her crew race their last fixture, and the accident has not diminished her enthusiasm for the final run-in before the Boat Race. “This is my favourite bit! This is where I thrive,” says the former Great Britain Under 23s cox who left Oxford Brookes University Boat Club to join CUBC in September 2021.

She delights at the prospect of fine-tuning this year’s crew and finding “the little things that click”.

“I’m confident in our line-up. I have absolute trust and belief that my crew will execute the fundamentals – the ones we decided will define the success of this project,” says Mantell. “The final days are about refining how we want to row on race day. You spend all season thinking about mid-racerhythm, and mid-race pace, but now you get to practice the fun stuff, like starts. How to get up to speed in the most efficient way possible; how to take the first stroke; how you will feel on the start line.”

Mantell is also looking forward to seeing her crew come together off the water in their pre-race stay at Putney. “I take a lot of joy in that,” she says.

“I was clear about setting boundaries, like not letting them follow my personal Instagram. I have a life outside of work and I keep it separate from coaching.”

As a 24-year-old woman Mantell is unique among the openweight Boat Race coaches. “Being out on the Tideway is a nice eye-opener because it is clear there are a lot of female coaches about now,” she says. “There seems to be far more than there ever has been. I would still like to see more female coaches at the top of the sport.”

Mantell’s first coaching job was at Bedford Modern School during her gap year in the 2016-17 season. “It was satisfying working with young girls. They responded well to having a female coach. I hope the message I sent them was that being a strong, powerful woman is something to embrace and be proud of. That’s something I valued in my own career. Any female role models I could find I tried to learn as much as I could from them.”

“Having more female coaches in roles that are visible, like this one, is important. Hopefully it encourages other women into coaching,” says Mantell.

Before joining Cambridge, Mantell considered whether her age would impact on how her rowers responded to her coaching. “Ultimately, you’ve got to let your ability to coach do the talking. But I wanted to make sure that I had things in place to feel confident in those scenarios. Straight away I was clear about setting boundaries. Simple stuff like not letting them follow my personal Instagram. I have a life outside of work and I keep it separate from coaching, so the athletes didn’t see me as a 23-yearold woman, they saw me as their coach.”

It worked. In 2022 Blondie beat Osiris by two-and three-quarter lengths.

Does Mantell have a sense of how this year’s race will unfold? “By all accounts Osiris are a good, fast crew. I hope they are fast. Honestly though, I’ve not seen them on the water a whole lot this year. We’ve managed to avoid being at the same place, at the same time, so I can’t comment. I have a lot of respect for James [Powell, Oxford University Women’s Boat Club Assistant Coach] and how he coaches and what he does.”

As for her own style of coaching Mantell likes to, “Keep things simple”. “It is a big philosophy of mine,” says Mantell. She believes it is especially important for the Blondie group who have to cope with a lot of change. “We don’t set the line-up super early and ultimately, they support the Blue Boat. So, subs move in and out all the time. Dealing with this level of change means consistency and simplicity in the coaching is crucial.”

“It was my style when I was coxing too. Overcomplicating things doesn’t help. As a cox your job is to think on behalf of the crew. When the rowers are in pain you call simple fundamentals, ones they can rely on.”

What are Blondie’s go to fundamentals? “Length under the water. A relentless rhythm, especially in the middle of the race, and having as little impact on the boat as possible during the recovery.” Simples.

^{Tom Ransley is the Editor of Row360. He was on the GB national team for over 10 years winning Olympic bronze at London 2012 and Olympic gold at Rio 2016, both in the men’s eight. He is a Cambridge Blue and raced the Boat Race twice.}