Check out Part 1 here
In that moment, the world seemed to stop turning for the Huskies. Stranded in the pouring rain and with mounting pressure to participate in the event’s showpiece final, equipment failure was the very last thing they needed. “One can happen,” said Jacobs. “Two feels like an error.”
The team had to race, though. “By that stage, we were honestly just glad to get underway,” commented Jacobs. “We started well. We were in the perfect position. You can see off the start that we are playing with the stream. If you know Henley Royal Regatta, then you know the cox’s job is vital. We’ve been studying the stream for three weeks by that point. Looking back, I put a lot of ownership on myself. I was coming back to our home course, coming back to where my granny had lived.“
“In that moment, you’re on a razor edge. I was really going for the 1%. I was, you know, as tight to the wall as possible. There’s a lot of things affecting it. There’s wind, there’s stream, the crowds, the umpire. When you’re on that razor edge, one moment can determine the outcome. I looked away for one second to see where Brookes were, and then we hit the booms.”
“It’s heartbreaking. It’s really tough. I get emotional every time I think about it.“
Jacobs took the summer to process what had happened and to consider his future in the sport. “It’s funny, because the people who have operated at that top level in the sport never once made me feel bad about what happened. They understood instantly,” he said. “It was only those who hadn’t experienced it who made me feel bad. To them, it’s straightforward. I was going for the 1% and it didn’t pay off, and that is just how sport is.”
The aftermath was, naturally, a bit of a blur: “The great thing, but also the terrible thing, about Henley (Royal Regatta) is that people are everywhere. I remember thinking, ‘No one speak to me, I don’t want to see anyone,’ but obviously, people want to comfort you. Nate (Goodman), our coach for the campaign, gathered us all after the race to remind us of who we were and what we’d done. ‘Don’t forget what you’ve done this season,’ he said.”
“I remember being in my own head and desperate to escape. I was on my way to the bathroom to hide in a cubicle when I bumped into Tom Bowles, one of my first coaches and someone who started me in the sport. He just hugged me and said, ‘This doesn’t define you if you don’t want it to’. Looking back, that was amazing. At the time, I just remember thinking that this is how everyone will think about you, and I can’t return from this.”
The bonds Jacobs had forged with his teammates were never more apparent than in the moments after their ill-fated final. At one point, his crewmates formed a human shield to protect him from onlookers and question-hungry acquaintances. “Nate took us out of town for a meal, and we spent the night thinking about all our season’s positives,” said Jacobs. “Winners of the Cal duel for the first time since 2021, victors at possibly the last-ever Pac-12s, national champions. No matter what happened in Henley, no one can take that away from us.”
At a time of crisis, it’s how we respond that defines us, not the nature of the problem. After taking the summer to refresh, Jacobs returned to Washington, intent on continuing to cox. He will line up in the 3V this weekend at the IRA National Championships, where Washington are red-hot favourites to take gold. Coxing is rowing’s loneliest road, but walking it requires resilience that most cannot even begin to fathom. That moment in the rain will live in infamy, but you’d be foolish to assume it’s the last chapter in the story.
For more information on the UW programme, check out AllMarkOne’s feature: https://youtu.be/W6NLQE-9T_c?si=ZS0-juVWovyv2IFz
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