Towards 2012

Beijing has been and gone. Many lessons have been learnt. London 2012 may seem a while away, but for us, the journey has already begun.

This year I have been selected in the Australian Women's Double Scull to compete at the World Rowing Championships in Poznan at the end of August. My partner, Pippa Savage, a fellow Toowoomba girl, made her international debut last year in the Olympic Single Scull. In the past Pippa and I have shared a great rivalry, competing for Australia's Single Scull title, however, not until now have we combined our talents; and it is proving to be a formidible duo.

As we close in on this year's world championships, we are excited about our potential. This weekend we will be racing at Sydney International Regatta Centre alongside our fellow Australian team mates, testing our speed over 2000m and working on consistent performances. At the regatta's conclusion, we will be entering into a four week intensive training camp in Penrith before flying to Verase, Italy for a pre-World's speed camp.

Important Dates:
10th-12th July - SIRC Rowing Australia 'World Cup' regatta
14th-31st July - Penrith Intensive Training Camp
1st-9th August - Australian Rowing Team Preparation Camp
9th August - Fly to Italy
10th-20th August - Pre-World's Speed Camp (Varese, Italy)
23rd-30th August - World Rowing Championships, Poland

Saturday, September 6, 2008

The Second Week of Olympics!


Probably the best week of my life! Parties, friends, shopping, watching other sports and relaxing. Life couldn't get much better. The Olympic Village in the second week was one of the greatest experiences ever.

Athletes are an interesting breed. We look after our bodies as if they are a porcelain doll 99% of the time, however, that 1% when it is time to let the hair down, it most definitely is let all the way down! The second week of the Olympics, was that 1% of the last four years. I had the opportunity to meet so many other Australian athletes, which we don't normally get to do.

In the village, everybody is relaxed, happy and enjoying every moment of the day. It doesn't matter who came what, or where you are from, everybody will talk to everybody (especially at the McDonald's line in the early hours of the morning).

I had the opportunity to spectate some other sports including both the men's and women's basketball matches versus USA, the syncronised swimming duet finals, the 10m platmform men's diving qualifiers and watched endless hours of actual live closed-circuit television of every single event. Not like the Channel 7 'live'; that was about a 45 minute delay! It was awesome!