07 Dec 2011
World Champion rowers make their wish
What do you wish for when you are already a World Champion? One thing is for sure, there is no slowing down. Spend time over the festive season to read below and find out what our current World Champions wish for the coming year, the event they are most looking forward to and what they plan for Christmas Day.
“I would love to make the Australian women's eight again in 2007. My wish is not only just to make it, but for it to be the strongest eight we've ever had. As the Beijing Olympics get nearer and nearer, we have to keep going forward and build a strong team. I would love to be a part of that.
I'm looking forward to the World Championships. We don't get to race in many events around the world due to our isolation so the World Championships are definitely the highlight. I love to get together with my friends from all over the world and get some great racing done.
Christmas Day is definitely a day of rest. I'm sure that I will eat myself silly but then I will go for a nice long walk along the beach. Then it's back into training the next day!”
Robyn Selby Smith (AUS W4-)
“Be selected for the Australian rowing team, and do well in Munich. I’m most looking forward to Worlds. It's the World Championships! On Christmas day I’ll go for a 3km family jog in the morning and then eat as much as I can.”
“Keep improving and win 3rd World Title. Hopefully I’ll get to race at Henley. It is a unique regatta and I love the one-on-one racing. A real mental battle. On Christmas day I will be at the beach with my family. I expect to probably have a run along the beach and probably a bike ride to my aunties for lunch.”
“My personal goal is to defend the title we established last August. However, I am equally eager to see the rest of our women's team climb the ranks. We are a tight-knit group and we value each other's successes. My wish for 2007 is to see the entire Canadian team thrive and reach their full potential.
I am already looking forward to the World Championships in Munich. We love the environment there and had great success in our first appearance as a pair at the 2006 Munich Rowing World Cup. As the Olympic qualifier it is that much more important and I know that the standard will be set even higher this year. Those are the kinds of races I look forward to the most!
On Christmas Day it depends on the snow. If it does snow, I may go out for a cross-country skiing session and/or snowball fight after church. If there is no snow on the ground, I may just go for a nice long walk with family. It's my nephew's first Christmas and I want to spend as much time with him as I can. Christmas Day for our family is about spending the day together and I wouldn't miss that for anything.”
Darcy Marquardt (CAN W2-)
“For those closest to me to be blessed with happiness and good health and to renew friendships with those I've lost contact with over the past couple years. I’m looking forward to the Rowing World Cup in Linz. I have never been to Austria but hear it’s beautiful and it will be great to get more regattas in before the World Championships in Munich.”
On Christmas Day if I can borrow an erg, I'll do just that – set it up in my parents’ garage. Otherwise I will go for a run along a forest path nearby.”
“Even better result at the World Championships 2007.”
“Fight for the gold medal at the Olympic qualification regatta in the Olympic lightweight category event.”
“Fight for the World Champion title. The lightweight men’s four will still be the first priority, because we have put a lot into this boat and thus look forward to more and better results.” Wu is aiming for any boat which can potentially win a gold medal.
“At the top of my rowing Christmas list: as an arms-only sculler, I have never sat in a crew boat and my dream has been to row with my wheelie friends. This dream is about to come true with the launch of the first ever arms-only quad in the world through the wonderful help of all the Tasmanian rowing fraternity. I'm really very excited about this as it will be a tremendous milestone in the evolution of adaptive rowing.
Since I lost the use of my legs and can no longer bush walk or go mountaineering, one of the greatest pleasures that rowing can bring me is to gain that unique advantage of spectacular scenery. I'm very lucky to be able to train regularly on my local course Lake Barrington, which is claimed to be the second prettiest course in the world. The prettiest is Lucerne, Switzerland and I had dreamed of rowing there in the final of the Rowing World Cup series. A further irony is that with my condition, I expect to have to retire after Beijing 2008 and so this was my only chance to ever row at Lucerne. So I'll dream of racing there this year.
On Christmas Day I love good food and company, but dislike that bloated feeling that you can get, so I won't over indulge and look forward to some great Australian weather and hopefully be able to cap it off with a leisurely long distance row on my local beautiful river in the Tamar Valley. I figure that having put in so many hours working on technique and speed that one leisurely row will remind me once again of why I love this sport and won't spoil my technique too much. In fact perhaps I'll put a few chocolates in the boat with me!”
To be continued…