Adaptive rower strives for winter Paralympics

Call it a mid-life crisis. Call it a new challenge. Adaptive rower, Australia’s Dominic Monypenny, has a new challenge. He’s swapping his oars for skis in an attempt to go for the 2010 winter Paralympics as a cross-country skier.

Monypenny is a two-time world champion in the arms only men’s single sculls (AM1x) and raced in the Final at the 2008 Beijing Paralympic Games. He recently left the Tasmanian summer to take to the snow of Colorado, USA. Never having skied as a para-athlete, Monypenny, 48, jokes his new goal is due to a mid-life crisis. World Rowing talked to Monypenny and found the reason was far more intriguing.

World Rowing: Why cross-country skiing?
Dominic Monypenny: Well that's a long story! I used to love downhill sit skiing and although offered the chance to take it to the next level, had to forgo pursuit with my youngest lad in his final years of school and could hardly go off gallivanting around the world. So I pursued rowing. The irony was once I got to international standard I had to abandon the skiing because it was considered too potentially injurious.

Then I was at a rowing training camp just before the World Rowing Championships in 2007 and was interviewed as a potential for the Beijing Games. The interviewer made a comment about all the sport I did and specifically the skiing. Having been "banned" from skiing for so long I immediately started raving about it. The interviewer looked me straight in the eye and asked had I considered Canada 2010? I was flabbergasted. Here I was about to go off to the World Rowing Championships and somebody had completely derailed my mental focus!

I tried to bury the thought, but, of course, the seed was sewn.

WR: What is your background in cross country skiing?
DM: Ironically none as a para-athlete. I had greatly enjoyed both downhill and cross country as an able body years ago, but I had not done a lot of either.

WR: Why Colorado?
DM: Indeed! I had expected to train in Canada, but apparently they don't have a sit ski cross country programme. But one of Australia's elite single arm cross country skiers was based in Colorado and had great success last year with this coach who was very keen to work with me.

WR: What is your training like?
DM: Training is intense with the combination of altitude at nearly 3000m and extreme cold (minus 28 degrees Celsius the other day). Consequently you can't head out too early because the skis just don't slide, rather they stick to the snow. As such you can only get two training sessions on the snow per day, but we train seven days a week and cover up to 42km per day. So, like rowing, a major focus is distance. Like rowing also it is quite technical and so we mix up the intensity with technical sessions. I'm also starting strength and conditioning gym sessions. Combined with just trying to get the wheelchair through the snow it's pretty much full-on.

WR: What in your rowing background will help you in cross country skiing?
DM: The discipline of application will be the most transferable skill, but the action is different enough to necessitate starting from my base level fitness.

WR: What do you think will be the hardest thing about aiming for the top in cross-country skiing with so little background in the sport?
DM: Probably the short timeline to achieve the dream by 2010. If I were younger I would be aiming to achieve the standard by 2014. I think also that the racing format will take a bit of getting used to, whereby in rowing we have our own separate lanes but in cross country skiing it's a common race track.

WR: Is it hard to leave the Tasmanian summer behind?
DM: Yes, it’s heart-wrenching after such a long winter of training and particularly knowing that realistically I have to live/ train at the snow line until the 2010 Paralympic Games. But the upside is there should be no rain because it should be too cold for that. Here in this snow-clad crystal garden, although the temperatures are extremely cold, the humidity is so low that the chill isn't as bleak as the Tassie winter days.”

WR: Are you still involved in rowing?
DM: I’m having a spell from rowing at the moment. I made a promise to young, up and coming arms only rower in Australia that I would retire to let him have a go at representing Australia. But I love rowing and I plan to get back to social rowing after the Winter Games in 2010.

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