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Book cover for “The Eight” by Ed Willes with a blurred rowing-themed motion background

The Eight

New book on British coach Mike Spracklen and his successful yet controversial time coaching Canada

Words: Row360
Photography: Kevin Light
1 min read

He coached Sir Steven Redgrave and Sir Matthew Pinsent. He took Canada to Olympic gold in Barcelona and Beijing. He built one of the most dominant programs in rowing history and then was dismissed after winning silver. Now, award-winning sports writer Ed Willes tells the full story of Mike Spracklen in The Eight, published by MET Fine Printers, Summer 2026.

Book cover for “The Eight” by Ed Willes with a blurred rowing-themed motion background

Spanning five decades, three continents and 13 Olympic medals, Spracklen’s career stands alongside the greatest coaching stories in sport. Yet the man himself remains an enigma, revered by some of the most decorated rowers in the world, reviled by others who experienced his uncompromising methods first-hand.

The Eight focuses on Spracklen’s extraordinary time in Canada, where he transformed the country into the preeminent sweep rowing nation in the world. The story reaches its climax at the 2012 London Games, where Spracklen’s men’s eight won silver.

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“His supporters view him as a visionary who extracted the best out of his athletes,” writes Willes. “His detractors believe he’s cold-hearted and calculated. The truth, as ever, is more complicated, and more fascinating.”

The book is illustrated with more than 100 photographs by Kevin Light – a professional photographer who also won Olympic gold rowing for Spracklen at the 2008 Beijing Games, giving him a uniquely intimate perspective on the programme he documented.

From Spracklen’s introduction to the sport as a schoolboy at Marlow Rowing Club, to that controversial London farewell, The Eight is both a portrait of sporting excellence and an exploration of what it truly costs in sacrifice, loyalty, and human connection to pursue greatness at the highest level. The Eight by Ed Willes is published by MET Fine Printers, Summer 2026.