Asda Athletes

Sorry this has taken so long to get up and running, but this season has definitely been my busiest by far! I have lost track of the amount of times I have travelled back and forth from down South, safe to say I am a regular at Heathrow Terminal 5!

As much as I have been away from home, it was definitely worth it in the end. It started with taking part in U23 GB Trialling process, where my partner and I got invted to final trials. We then took part in the Metropolitan Regatta, where we came 2nd in Elite Coxless fours, and then joined forces with the winners to go on and win in Elite Eights. I was delighted as this was my first appearance at this regatta, and to win was a good achievement. Plus we got a nice big trophy…

Next Stop was the Scottish Championships which were held at Strathclyde Park.

It was nice to be closer to home for a change, and this time I only had to travel 3 hours to get there!

I did well at this event, coming 2nd in U23 single sculls, and 3rd in Open Single Sculls. Considering I had spent the most part of the season only using one oar, I think that was respectable. Claire and I went on to win Womens Open pairs by 11seconds which was also a good achievement, and showed that our training was paying off! Because of our win, this meant that we were then eligable to represent Scotland at the Home International Regatta, which was to be held in Cardiff this year, and there we would be competing against England, Ireland and Wales. I was glad to be selected for this as I have done this event every year for the past 4 years.

Next stop… Womens Henley!

So I had yet again another trip back down South, this time I was going to be racing as part of an U23 composite 8. We were entered in Elite 8s for this regatta, this course was shorter than the standard racing course, and was raced over 1500m rather than 2000m.

We had drawn an American Crew for the first round, everyone was nervous as it is hard to know the standard of foreign opposition, nevertheless we were going to give it everything we had and treat it as if it was the final. It was a good race, and we had lead out the blocks and stayed ahead the whole race. The verdict was we had won by 3 and a half lengths, which in an 8 was quite respectable.

The next round came round quickly, and again we had been drawn against another American crew. We could not underestimate them, as they had just won their heat, but after our first row I think we were quietly confident that we could execute our plan well. We went on to win by 4 lengths, this secured our place in the final.

The final was the last race of the day so we had a while to wait. Radcliffe University from the States had also secured their place in the final.

Race time came round quickly and before we knew it we were up at the start ready to race! We had a blistering start which put us in good stead for the rest of the race, we held pace through the middle and all that was left was the final push for the finish, the Americans were a strong crew and started to push back off the last 500m it came to a length, then 3/4 of a length and just before they managed to crawl back to 1/2 a length the line was there, we had won! This was a great achievement for me and I had achieved one of my aims for the season, but beyond expectation as elite events are very prestigious.

And to top it off, Sir Steve Redgrave presented the prizes, so I managed to get a photo with him! :)

Next stop.. Under 23 World Championships!!!

Well… After a hard season, and proving myself on many occasions I had finally did it.. I got selected to represent Great Britain at the U23 World Championships held in Trakai, Lithunia!I was going to be part of the Womens 8, ready to take on the rest of the World!

We were up against The United States, Germany, Netherlands, and Belarus. Because there were only 5 crews, we had a straight final, but would have to take part in a race for lanes for the final.

The race for lanes was very exciting, as we had been training all the way up to this point, but had not had an opportunity to race other crews. It was very exciting but also a daunting experience as I had never raced at a World Championsships before. We got lined up, and before we knew it the light was green and we were off. We had a fast start and lead the World up until the 1000m mark. This is where it began to hurt, and the other crews started to fight back, the Americans managed to push through, which left us in a battle with the German Crew, it was literally stroke for stroke all the way up to the line, and we had been pipped at the post, leaving us in 3rd position going into the finals, infront of the Netherlands and Belarus. However, nobody could be underestimated going into the final. We had learned from the race, but what was done was done and it was time to focus on the final.

Finals day was here, and we were ready to race! We had prepped for this the whole year, and it all came down to this one race, the conditions were good, and everyone was ready to go out there and give it everything.

We got up to the start warmed up, gone through our well practiced routine and got attached to the start. We were off again, and again we were up in 1st place off the first 500m, the Americans again managed to push their way through, and maintained 2nd place all the way up to the last 500m, the Germans and the Netherlands began to close in either side of us, and we were all going stroke for stroke up until the line. The Germans got half a length in the end, finishing in 2nd place, 5seconds behind the United States, closely followed by the Netherlands who were 1 second away from the Germans, and Great Britain finishing in 4th position infront of Belarus by 18 seconds, but nail bitingly close to being on the medal podium finishing 0.8 of a second behind bronze. We had given it everything we had, but in the end was not enough. I definitely learned from the experience and although the outcome was not exactly what we wanted, but the experience we gained from it was invaluable! Next year we will be ready to go out there again, and stand on the podium!

Final Stop of the season, Home Countries!

So here we are.. fresh off the press! This time in Cardiff! Home Countries is a great way to end the season… Not only getting to represent your country, but it is always a good laugh, and nice to be apart of.

It had been 4 years ago, at the age of 16 when I had last been to Cardiff, and I had high hopes and expectations as along with my crew I had won Junior Coxless fours for Scotland.

We had started the day off well by winning the Womens Pair event, but not without some tecnical difficulties! We had a slight bashing with a buoy, luckily for us, the buoy came off worse! But nevertheless we did not let it affect us, and went on to win in a nail biting finish against the English, winning by a bow ball (which is the size of a golf ball, so not much at all) it was nice to be on the winning side of the verdict this time round!

Our work wasn’t done, and we couldn’t celebrate just yet, as we paired up with another two girls to do the Womens Coxless four! Thankfully there were no technical issues before this race!

We got onto the start, the light went green and we were off! after the first 10 strokes we had established an early lead and the gold was was on the cards! We just had to keep our cool and push hard! In the end we won by just under 3 lengths, it was a good race and for never rowing in that combination it was quite impressive!

We went out with a bang, and it was a nice way to end the season! Now I can have a little time at home, have a few weeks off, and then it will be back down to business again in preparation for next season!=)