EEVA KARPPINEN

Eeva Karppinen from Finland competed in the women’s single sculls at the 2014 World University Rowing Championships in Gravelines, France.

 

Eeva’s father, the great rowing legend Pertti Karppinen, won three consecutive Olympic gold medals in the men’s single sculls at the 1976, 1980 and 1984 Olympic Games. As Eeva states below, her father did not pressure her to take up the sport and she began rowing because she “got bit by the rowing bug”.

 

World Rowing met up with Eeva in Gravelines to learn more about what it is like to be a rower in her country and a university student at the same time.

 

World Rowing: Where do you study?

Eeva Karppinen: In Finland, at a school of economics.

 

WR: How did you start rowing?

EK: I saw an ad at a swimming pool indicating there was a rowing school. I asked my parents if I was allowed to try. They said, “Ok, if you want to.” I played volleyball before then, and then I got bit by the rowing bug at age 14.

 

WR: How did your parents feel about you rowing?

EK: They said to do whatever makes me happy.

 

WR: Did you ever have the chance to see your father row?

EK: He still rows. Five years ago he participated in a race in Finland and some erg races. He still rows every other day, so I see him rowing quite often.

 

WR: Does he play any role in your rowing career?

EK: He is now helping out me and another girl, my brother and my head coach.

 

WR: Do you think he had any effect on your ability to embrace the sport?

EK: I think it’s cool because he’s my dad. I don’t think of him as this great rower. I just think that it’s great that he is with me. I think that I am myself, an individual, and this is what I like to do. He is a bit different in his history, but I also like to have him around because every race course we go to, he has inside information. He has been pretty much everywhere. It helps a lot of us to focus and keep things together.

 

WR: What is university rowing like in Finland?

EK: We have a few university clubs, but it’s not that big of a thing. A lot of our athletes study, so it’s just that we row for different clubs and we study. I also studied two years at the University of California, Berkeley. I’ve done a lot of sweep rowing.

 

WR: What was that experience like for you?

EK: I think it taught me a lot. It’s great to see a lot of my teammates here in Gravelines and at other competitions. It was difficult, but I enjoyed it. It was a lot of teamwork and I like to be on a team.

 

WR: How to you find the balance between studying and rowing?

EK: I don’t find it difficult. I really like to study. I enjoy school so I think it is more fun for me.

 

WR: What are your goals going forward?

EK: I want to do something that makes me happy with my job, maybe in the public sector. With rowing I will just take it one day at a time and see where it takes me.

 

WR: What is your preferred boat?

EK: I like team boats, the double and the eight. The single was fun today, but I prefer being in a team.

 

WR: What about the mental side? What do you think about before a race?

EK: I just think about pushing my legs. I had some technical difficulty with that this season and so I just really try to think “legs, legs, legs”.