There has been lots of change for me since my last blog post for SDS. In June 2018 I graduated from Edinburgh Napier University with a 2:1 honours degree in Sport & Exercise Science. A few weeks after that I swam what would be my last competitive race as a swimmer. Swimming has been such a massive part of my life for a long time and was a huge factor in helping me through some really tough times with my health, both physically and psychologically. A big thank you to Scottish Swimming and Scottish Disability Sport for making my time as a swimmer so enjoyable, I will always look back with fond memories. As they say when one door closes another one opens …
After a friend shared an advert that British Canoeing were looking for new talent athletes, I thought ‘I could do that’, I sent an email to say I was interested in giving Paracanoe a try. After a successful trial in Nottingham I soon found myself at a freezing canal in Edinburgh where I first got in a boat. Despite a few unintentional swims I absolutely loved the sport, I love the freedom of being out on the water and after many years in a chlorinated pool environment its great to be outside in the fresh air. Conveniently I love training in the rain, the wind however is not my friend and can often lead to lots of wobbles in the boat and going for a swim!
Not long after I first started training in the boat I was very lucky to be invited down to Nottingham to train full time. Both Olympic and Paralympic sprint canoeing are based at the National Water Sports Centre in Nottingham so to be asked to train there full time was a massive honour. I moved down at the end of September 2018 and spent the winter improving my technique on the water and getting strong in the gym.
The training is very different to swimming, but I absolutely love it. The Paralympic distance is 200m so we have to be strong and powerful. In April we went to Plovdiv, Bulgaria, for a training camp, with some nice flat water to train on it was a great opportunity to transfer strength in the gym to speed on the water in preparation for selection for European Championships and World Cup. I learnt lots from our Plovdiv camp and was looking forward to continue making progress back in Nottingham.
Storm Hannah threw a spanner in the works for our selection regatta at the end of April, we were supposed to race on the Saturday but due to the wind it got postponed to the Monday, my poor Mum and Dad flew down from Scotland to watch me race for the first time but due to the rescheduling they had to go home and still haven’t got to see me race! After a strange couple of days not knowing when we were going to race, I was very happy to put down two solid runs resulting in selection for both the European Championships and also the World Cup in Poznan, Poland 21-24th May.
We found ourselves in a very rare position in Poland where there were two international competitions held back to back, but as this sport is still very new to me and it’s the first time I’ve raced internationally I saw it as a great opportunity to learn as much as I could. Europeans were up first. I had a good race in my heat finishing a close 2nd which gave me automatic qualification for the final the next day. Unfortunately the day of the final the weather took a turn for the worse providing us with some very challenging racing conditions, I wobbled the whole way down the course, was constantly having to regain my balance in the boat and eventually finished 4th. Although 4th at my first international was a pretty good result, I found it frustrating because I really struggled with the conditions so couldn’t give it my all and it didn’t feel like a true representation of what I’ve been doing in training.
However I had to quickly put that race aside as the following day was the start of the World Cup. Unfortunately for the heat of the World Cup the conditions were also pretty tough, so I was very relieved to come 3rd in that race meaning I qualified straight for the final without having to do a semi-final. Thankfully for the final the wind was a bit calmer and it turned out to be a very close race. I was in a photo finish for bronze, but had to settle for another 4th. Although a frustrating place to finish I did the fastest time I’ve done in a race and it was nice to know I was up there and competitive against some very experienced and successful athletes.
All in all the experience from Poland was invaluable. I definitely learnt a lot and I know that I still have a lot of areas to improve on. It was amazing to be part of such an amazing supportive and successful team. The team of athletes, coaches and support staff we have at British Paracanoe is world class and I feel privileged and lucky to be part of that every day.
After a brief recovery week back in Scotland seeing family and friends, I am back training preparing for selection for World Championships at the end of June. If selected, Worlds are in Hungary in August, I also have the possibility of a trip to Tokyo for the Paralympic test event in September – fingers crossed selection goes well!
In terms of the Young Persons Sports Panel, although I am unable to attend as many events due to being based in Nottingham, I continue to be involved from afar contributing to meetings and future planning via Skype. We have some cool stuff planned and I’m sure the panel will continue to strengthen and grow.