|
Interview Copyright/Media Notice
If you would like permission to reproduce extracts from any of these interviews please click
here
for conditions:
|
Interviews
|
|
 |
Katherine Grainger - Rower
Katherine is a rower & part of the team which won Britain's first women's Olympic rowing medal. Her home is Glasgow, she was a Brownie and a Guide."I've learnt the importance of team work & taking responsibility for my actions."
The very first river I ever rowed on was the Clyde in Glasgow, my home town. I had no idea what
I was doing and that no doubt showed! My first race was on the Dee in Aberdeen where I was joined
by a very friendly and playful seal for a while, until I fell in!
I learnt most of my rowing skills on the Edinburgh canal which although very narrow and reasonably
short at the time proved very good for conditions, coaching and particularly learning to steer!
One of the most beautiful places to row is the Caledonian Canal in Inverness. As long as you are wearing enough warm kit, an autumnal morning there among the stunning golds, greens and reds of the trees and the crisp clear air, is hard to beat.
This is too tough to answer! I know so many fantastic places in Scotland, and like so many
things, the best places are all linked to very happy memories. I had a truly wonderful time
living in Edinburgh during my University years and will always have a soft spot for the bridges
and the crags and the history and the outdoors there.
Most of my summer holidays when I was very young were spent with my Gran and Grandad in Aberdeen
- my sister, Sarah, and I used to swim in the freezing North Sea every year…no wonder I
became so hardy and able to row for hours in all weather conditions!
I grew up in the West coast close to the Lochs and mountains and they will also always be close
to my heart.
Yes, but there is an imbalance in numbers, as there is across the countries in anything, based
on the different populations. I would love there to be more Scottish people in the international
team representing Great Britain, but it is all based on performance.
So if the athletes from Scotland prove themselves then they will be successful as far as
they want to take it. It's an outdoor sport, so the weather obviously has a huge impact on the
training. It's tough to go out day after day in all weathers, but it can certainly be worth
it.
I think Universities in Scotland have done lots to help bring rowing to people, and local clubs
show just how much fun and how sociable the sport is. It's much more than just sitting in boats
going backwards!
I have been very lucky in that all of my successful races have also been incredibly exciting.
At the moment, the race I would talk most about is the first World Championship title in Milan
in 2003. That whole year was a massive lesson in belief and trust.
I rowed with a girl called Cath and we were up against the system for most of the year when
very few people believed in our dream. But we believed in ourselves and also in the handful
of people who supported and encouraged us. It resulted in a fantastic gold for us and for Great
Britain.
I also suffered a bad injury and it told me a lot about myself and what my body could cope with
under massive pressure. The race itself was a nail-biter as we came from fourth place through
to win in the closing stages of the race, overtaking the Olympic champions - what a day!
I have been lucky enough to pick up loads of great advice along the way. One that has proved
very useful has been something my first coach, Hamish, gave me. He said for every racing weekend;
expect five things to go wrong.
It didn't mean much at the time, but since then every regatta I have competed at has had its
own challenges - whether it was a typhoon, my boat getting a massive hole put through it, injury,
illness, accident etc.
Things go wrong but that doesn't mean the result will go wrong. It's important to be able to handle upsets and still keep your eyes on the prize. It works for other areas of life too - don't expect it all to be perfect!
I love all the different boat classes and have been lucky enough to compete in them all. They
are all very different - I love the pair as there's just the two of you, it's a very intimate,
personal boat and requires huge amounts of effort to stay focussed between the two of you without
becoming suffocating. It brings huge rewards as everything is down to the smallest possible
team.
The quad is a very fast boat - almost the speed of an eight, but with half the people. Everyone
has different roles in it and there isn't the same intensity of the pair, four people make for
a more relaxed atmosphere and there are more people to share the responsibilities.
An eight is a fast, exciting, powerful, noisy boat - the best ones are full of very different
personalities who all bring out the best in each other. It's a sociable boat but can be very
frustrating to get everyone together thinking the same thing at the same time. All boats are
different with their own strengths and weaknesses.
This is a hard one. It's difficult to describe the mix between dread and fear and excitement and nerves and adrenalin and focus that surges through you just before you begin.
During the race itself, things go very quickly - you draw on all the hours and hours of training over the years and your body goes through all stages of pain.
Your mind races but at the same time is very still and clear and during the best races you can think rationally and clinically while your heart pounds, your body aches and your soul soars.
I would say without a doubt that it's not a sport for the privileged few. I was not at a fee-paying school and was not brought up on parties at Henley - far from it.
Rowing has changed from being a sport for the few to a sport for the masses. There will always be some in the sport from the classic privileged classes but I can guarantee you that the majority are not.
I can also guarantee that when the flag goes down and the race begins, it won't matter what your background is! Being fast is what's important, nothing else is. So I can say to everyone…give it a go!
I probably was not the most diligent of Guides, or most talented, but nevertheless I did get
so much back from my years in both Brownies and Guides.
Firstly I learnt huge amounts about working in teams and groups and also about taking responsibility
for my actions. I learnt to tackle things I didn't think I was capable of and how much value
there is in helping others. And all of that was against the background of having great fun with
great friends.
There are so many physical benefits in rowing - because it's an all over body exercise, your entire body gets a great workout. All the major muscle groups are worked in rowing, the back, the legs and the arms all need to be strong.
To help prevent injury there is also a strong focus on core stability - by being stronger through the middle, posture is improved and the other muscles can work much more effectively.
The training is also great for developing cardiovascular efficiency - rowing is a mix of power and endurance, so both strength and fitness are required.
A rower needs to have certain physical attributes, but as any successful athlete knows, just
as much of the success comes from the mental side of things.
Both in training and competition it is essential to have a clear aim, a method of setting goals
to get that aim, a desire, a passion, a determination and drive that will overcome the inevitable
obstacles that will be in your path.
Some of these qualities will be natural and some will come through experience. But they will
all make you stronger not just in sport but in every part of your life.
To find out more about Katherine and rowing please see Scottish Rowing
