The third year of every Olympiad, is where Olympic dreams are born. This is the third time I have competed at the World Championships, where Olympic qualification spots are up for grabs. I can safely say, it is by far the most stressful and high pressured racing you can be a part of. This year in Linz, Austria, I was looking to qualify the single scull for the Tokyo 2020 Games. There were 38 entries, the biggest entry ever seen in the women’s single, with only 9 Olympic spots up for grabs. From previous experience of 2011 and 2015, I knew it wasn’t just about having the speed, it was about holding my nerve when the pressure was really on. Staying in the moment, controlling my emotions and trusting in my experience of delivering in big races, was going to be critical.
I can safely say, it is by far the most stressful and high pressured racing you can be a part of.
My 2019 season had not so far gone to plan, finishing 7th at the Europeans, 5th at World Cup II and 4th at World Cup III. Due to being diagnosed with over training last season and having to take some time off to recover, it took me longer than normal to find my race speed in the early season. In the most important season of the Olympiad so far, I was on the back foot and had to take a big leap forward if I was at least going to qualify.
This season the women’s squad came under the new leadership of Jurgen Grobler. Jurgen has coached the GB men since 1991, but this is the first time he has been Chief Coach of the women. His record of coaching crews to Olympic gold medals at every Olympic Games since 1972, shows his incredible knowledge and leadership. This gives me huge confidence in his programme, and my job is to execute it to the best of my ability.
After World Cup III, there were six weeks until the start of racing, the majority of it spent on lake Varese in Italy. This period consisted of a month, where strength and endurance were the focus. Covering a lot of miles and lifting a lot of weights. The next two weeks was all about race preparation. Here the mileage reduces but the volume of intensity increases. I really enjoy this time of year and the process involved, every day and every session has a very specific purpose, and I had to make every stroke count.
The six weeks went really well. With consistent training in the bag, I had found speed and confidence. I knew I would be at my fastest come the World Championships. But how fast compared to the rest of the world, was unknown.
As soon as the regatta started, the racing was far more ferocious than I had ever seen. In the men’s single, scullers were literally racing each other to a standstill in the repecharge, and that was to make the top 24! This intensity of racing, just highlighted what these World Championships meant to all the athletes. For me, the semi final was going to be the big race. A top three finish would put me in the final, but most importantly qualify for the first time in 20 years, the British women’s single scull for the Olympics. The pressure came from wanting to do it for myself, after all the hard work I had put in, but also to do it for the team.
I knew I would be at my fastest come the World Championships. But how fast compared to the rest of the world, was unknown.
I won my heat and quarter final, against some strong opposition. It was important to start the regatta well, and that is what I had done. Going into the semi final, my confidence had grown, and I knew not finishing top three was mine to lose. I had thought about this race numerous times. Semi finals I always find the most nerve racking races, if you don’t get it right, there are no second chances and you aren’t in the fight for a medal. This year the nerves were all consuming. Quality sleep was hard to come by and I could feel the tension through my whole body, but I was prepared. I knew this is how I would feel and more importantly, I knew the best way to deal with it. Coming back to the process of how I wanted to row, would to keep my mind off the consequences of this race. I had a day between my quarter and semi final, meaning there was a lot of time to think, but I just had to keep fighting the unhelpful wanderings of my mind. Netflix provided some distraction!
My sculling in the semi didn’t feel quite as fluid as the first two rounds, but I got the job done and finished 2nd. Qualification was secure, and I was now in the hunt for the medals. As I crossed the line, I felt a huge amount of relief. The realisation that I had qualified the boat, lifted a huge weight off my shoulders.
The final was now the fun part, the hunt for a medal. Going into it I was ranked 4th, based on times from the previous rounds. At 1250m I was lying half a length down on the American Kara Kohler, who was in the bronze medal position. I made a move to try and get my bow ball ahead. It was a risky move. The energy I put in, risked me not getting to the finish line, but I would deal with that in the last couple of hundred meters! I gave the race everything I had but Kohler had enough to hold me off and I finished 4th.
Yes, 4th is probably the worst place to finish. However, once my initial raw emotions had settled down, and I had recovered from the physical exhaustion, I was proud of my performance. My coach Paul Reedy and I, had found a lot of speed in a short amount of time, delivering four high quality races, over eight seriously intense days.
I am far from content with 4th as I do this to win medals, but knowing I had given the preparation and performance everything I had, I could put my head on the pillow that night and sleep well. I am now in a solid starting position for the Olympic year, and there is lots of fuel for my fire.
As a British team we qualified 10 out of the 14 Olympic class boats. Tokyo, the British are coming!
