Asda Athletes

Hi All,

Well a lot has happened since my last post. We (Rowing Ireland) have gone through the entire world under 23 rowing regatta and have enjoyed every minute of it!! The pair I was in with Shane is now ranked 9th in the world at our level which considering the time we had together and our lack of experience racing this type of boat was very pleasing. Hopefully next year if we are both good enough we will be given the chance to improve that ranking and try to get a medal :)

The team arrived back in Ireland very early this morning at 3am. I have since arrived home to see my parents for a few hours, to regale stories of the adventures in Lithuania, before embarking on my first proper holiday in a few years. I am going on a trip to visit my sisters in England as I have not spent much time with them due to sport commitments.

On my return I resume studying for my August exams while continuing training so that once they are over Shane and I can begin preparing for our next challenge, the ‘World University Rowing Championships’ in Kazan, Russia.

Until next time,

Work hard at the things you enjoy so that you might have no regrets!

Jonny

Greetings from Trakai,

We arrived safely at our hotel at 3am on Monday morning, so a lie in was called for. We were met with fantastic weather with temperatures in the 30’s, and very calm water. In the evening however, we had a storm! The hotel is great, Shane and I are sharing a room, which we have divided up accordingly, he gets the double bed with en suite and balcony, I get the reception room (converted to bedroom) and other toilet…now that I write this down I feel a little like I got the raw deal but I can slip in and out of the room through the night which suits me. On this point, I find that the sooner we get to race day the more my sleep pattern is disrupted so having the freedom to go for a short walk suits me very well. Racing starts tomorrow so today involves a couple of short technically focused sessions in the boat and lots of sitting around, finally a check that our weight is ok for weighing in tomorrow before the first race. I here’s a link to a photo album I am making of our trip so far and to the under 23 rowing championships facebook page for anyone who would like to follow the event.

Hi all,

Sorry it has taken so long for this years blog to get up and started! This year has been very different to last year, I have been training with a new coach, Nathan Adams, and this has seen my rowing improve drastically. The goal for this year was to be in the top under 23 rowing boat for the world championships, and we have managed it together with some very hard work through good times and bad. Today the under 23 team leave to go to Trakai, Lithuania where racing will start this Wednesday. I will be racing with Shane O’Driscoll in the lightweight mens pair. Training has been going well so we look forward to the regatta and some tough racing!!

I will try to update this while we are in Lithuania to fill you in on how training has gone and what the event is like.

Last week, I went to kendal ETD camp. I spent a week in the pouring down rain training hard. It was good too see my friends despite the pain. I’m hoping to go to Italy next week for another tough camp, but hopefully this one will be in sunshine!

The Olympic regatta is much smaller than at a world championships due to the need to qualify. This means the boats at the Olympics really are the best of the best. In lightweight men’s rowing there are only two boat types, the double and the coxless four. Britain are current world champions in both.

Zac Purchase is the stand-out athlete and he is currently in the double, he was only 22 in Beijing when he won gold so expect great things. The most exciting boat event in my opinion is the lightweight coxless four, last year only 1 second divided the top 5 boats over 2km.

Richard Chambers from Coleraine is in this British boat, his brother Peter (exceptional in his own right) will be trying to get a seat alongside him in this boat. These two lads are perfect role models for anyone looking to become involved in sport and I wish them all the best. Also from Coleraine will be Alan Campbell in the open men’s single, he finished 5th in Beijing and we hope Alan will continue his improvement which saw him 2nd in 2009! COME ON COLERAINE