Rowing’s Clean Water and Kafue River & Rowing Centre initiatives add new ambassadors

The Kafue River & Rowing Centre, World Rowing’s clean water “action” initiative with WWF, has gained three new rowing ambassadors.

Seven-time Olympian, Olaf Tufte of Norway, is one of the best-known rowers in the world. Tufte’s first Olympics was Atlanta ’96 since when he has won two Olympic golds, a silver and a bronze as well as multiple World Championship and World Cup medals. He is both a farmer and fire-fighter, is involved locally in environmental activism and has his own brand of sustainably-produced clothing.

Growing up on a farm in Africa, Maike Diekmann already knows very well the importance of clean, fresh water to her home continent. From Namibia, the driest country in sub-Saharan Africa, Diekmann is her nation’s first ever Olympic rower having competed in the women’s single sculls in Tokyo.

Sam Bosworth is a new Olympic Champion, having recently coxed the New Zealand men’s eight to a great win in Tokyo. Bosworth, who holds a Bachelor of Environmental Management and Planning, is already very much involved in environmental initiatives in his home country, such as the Waikato River, where New Zealand’s national rowing team trains.

Our latest ambassadors are all very different in their ages and experience, but each is involved with their local water environment and all have very personal reasons to take an active role in supporting the KRRC and World Rowing’s Clean Water awareness mission.  You can see their videos here:

Maike Diekmann – https://youtu.be/N1KHLDUSpos

Olaf Tufte – https://youtu.be/KsB0As9V5yI

Sam Bosworth – https://youtu.be/qp5kLYaETQU

The Kafue River in Zambia and its surrounding ecosystem is a microcosm of the challenges that our global water ecosystems are facing – including hydropower and industrial, agricultural and urban pollution. All of these threaten communities, wildlife, industry and our sport. The site of the Kafue River & Rowing Centre is of utmost importance to WWF and is the perfect location for studying the demands on water as well as being a place where decision-makers, academics, industry and local communities will come together to understand, plan, use and better-manage the water resources they depend on. It is also a place where rowing can be taught and developed, being situated just 200 metres from a local school, which will use the rowing equipment as a part of their physical education programme.

The Centre is a unique opportunity for us to give back which is why World Rowing calls on all rowers, former and current, to ensure it can be built, fully-equipped and sustainably operated so that it can achieve its objectives for water research and rowing. For more information please see Kafue River & Rowing Centre – World Rowing. Your support is critical, so if you also would like to contribute to this very important project please see: Kafue River & Rowing Centre – World Rowing.

For more Information please contact Matt Smith, Executive Director: matt.smith@worldrowing.com