This World Cup was the biggest one in history, with huge entries in many of the events, including the lightweight women and lightweight men’s singles. There were a couple of withdrawals but at least five late entries the night before the racing started, giving us a field of 27 lightweight women, which is almost unheard of at either World Cup or World Championship events. We had a few fun and games and shenanigans with blades, kit and officialdom, but we woke up for a 6am weigh in on Friday morning feeling quite strange in some ways.
Before we even got to weigh-in, things were interesting. I have always prided myself on never, ever having weight problems, and always travel with my trusty scales, which have accompanied me to Japan, Spain, Poland, France and many, many other places. This time, we tested them against the official scales and they were weighing me 200g heavy, which is the way around you want them to be! So, on that basis, the sweat run was done at 5.30am and I had made weight with 100g to spare. Or so I thought. I then went downstairs to the official scales and “AAAAAAAARRRGH”, 100g HEAVY! Somewhere my scales had changed by 400g and were now weighing me 200g too light. Bugger. Back into kit, and on the ergo for a good old sweat. But of course, this made me much later for weigh in than I wanted to be, which is usually bang on two hours before race time. This usually gives enough time to rehydrate, eat breakfast and have enough time to chill out before the pre-race chat and boating. I was so disappointed that it was Zambia’s first entry onto the world stage and I was the last to weigh in. That afternoon we tested the scales and they had changed again and were now weighing me 400g lighter than the official ones. Needless to say, they were unceremoniously dumped in a bin in Lucerne!!
However, Team Zambia had arrived. My gorgeous boy, Julia and I had flown in on Wednesday morning, on Thursday evening JPM and Jill had driven over from Normandy in JPM’s new toy, and Ze Tscherman had been delivered to Lucerne Hauptbahnhof, complete with the amazing kit she so brilliantly organised at very short notice through Crewroom. We were ready.
Everything that we have been doing over the past 15 weeks was culminating in this regatta. Having come through everything I have been through, with the last straw being the illness on training camp in Dallas at Christmas which knocked me into the descent into despairing nothingness, we were here. Not nearly as trained as my competitors, not as well supported, independent and a small federation which has never been on the world stage, but Zambia was about to be represented at world level. The atmosphere was pretty charged with emotion; the excitement that we’d finally got here, the hope that we would perform at world level, and this might sound pretty cheesy but with the heart and soul of doing this for personal honour and family pride. There were tears of hope and joy before boating, and it took a lot to bring the focus to the job in hand.
My heat was pretty stacked and I lined up aiming to make the top three scullers straight through to the quarter finals. Green light, and off. I have a traditionally pretty strong start and this race was no exception. I was leading the Japanese sculler as well as the Swiss girl and the Dane. The Irish girl had gone out like a train and I tried to focus on keeping long and loose. Come the 750m mark though, it felt like I was rowing through treacle. I felt heavy and drained, and I kept having to remind myself of the basics, just to keep my nose in the game. Towards the end of the race I knew that I wouldn’t make it into the top three, but I thought that I should make it through on time. I think we all agreed that I had to cut myself a bit of slack, knowing that this was such a charged first race for so many reasons. Not only was it so huge to have got here, bearing in mind two weeks before Wallingford regatta at the beginning of May I couldn’t do 2k AT ALL, but also the enormity of what I’m trying to do was pretty weighty stuff to have on my shoulders. But, all that was out of the way now. Now it was all about the racing.
I had a few hours to re-energise and go to the hotel for a sleep before the quarter finals, where I knew that I would have my work cut out for me. Top three would take me into the semi finals and the top twelve. It was clear from the heats that I was already on the harder side of the draw, as my times were up there in comparison with the other heats, and so it was going to have to be a tooth and nail fight to the end. There were two girls who I was never going to beat in this race on the amount of training I have been able to do this year, so it was a race for third place. I kept fighting all the way, within half a length until the very end, where the lack of diesel and a decent year’s training and racing told on me. Pipped for third by just a length, but I could not have done any more on that day. Looking at the times, I was on the cusp of making the top twelve. However, being on the cusp means that with a hard draw, you get edged out, and end up where I did, in the C final. It is disappointing to know that someone you are right up there with qualified for the semis 9 seconds ahead of fourth place in the next quarter final, however that is racing, that is life and this is the line in the sand from which we can move forward. I now had to hold my head high again and race for pride in the morning.
Weigh in on Saturday was very easy...and I sat down with Julia for our pre-race chat. We knew the American girl would be a handful, as she is probably A final material and had an injury in the quarters which is why she was here in the C final. The rest of the field was there for the taking, but I knew the Japanese girl would have a fast finish, as could the Swiss and the Aussie. However, we had come here to find out where we are, and both Julia and JPM left me with the words, “Go out there, and whatever else you do, enjoy it”. Phil Rowley from Tideway Scullers said to me when he saw my kit, "The eagle has landed". I replied, "No, this eagle is just taking off"!
Green light. Go. Good start and all solid. The Japanese girl had gone out harder than in the heat, and was up on me in the first 500 or so. The Dane with the big guns (but no ammo) was already out the back, as she always had been, even in Holland, and the Aussie girl was also trailing. Coming through the 1000m I was still solid, getting out long and just enjoying the thrill of racing and being so focussed on each muscle and each part of my body doing what it is trained to do. At the 1250, my flex and widen call, I went out there to get my hands as wide as I possibly could and leant on those blades like there was nothing past each stroke. I could hear the Japanese girl’s blades slapping the water and the sound of her finishes came closer and closer as I rowed through her, gaining inches and inches with every catch. I wasn’t going to catch the American, and it was going to be between me and the Swiss girl for second place. Try as I might I just couldn’t make my boat surge past hers and we just beep-beeped over the line, with her nose in front of mine. It took some perspective to accept that she is the Swiss national champion and had medalled in previous World Cup events this year. That gives you and idea of how strong this field was!
I came off the water swelling with pride. I had raced the best I could. There is so much positivity to come out of this weekend’s racing. I keep thinking people are going to belittle what I have achieved in such a short period of time, and there are those who I am sure will. On paper, I came 15th overall. In reality, I’m a bit closer and with better luck could have been higher. The time differentials between the top heavyweight single scullers and the people further down are much greater than the difference between me and the top lightweight girls. However, I now need to make it that I am so firmly within the cusp that a hard draw doesn’t make a difference to whether I make the semi finals or not. That is the next step, and the standard at this World Cup was much higher than at the World Championships in 2006, which is when I last raced at this level. Things move on, and so must I. I am already better technically now than I was then, and there is so much more to come, both in terms of my basic fitness, which is lagging behind the top girls very significantly and there is more to change and improve with my technique. The boat is not set up particularly well either. All of these things will give me quarter, half, full seconds per 500m which will all add up to good steps on. So, not a bad job on such a short run-up.
This weekend, I stopped talking about racing for Zambia. I put my money where my mouth is, my neck on the line and I took some risks. And I thank my lucky stars that it is with the love and support of my friends and family that I am able to lift my head, and look towards the next goal, the World Championships in New Zealand in November. There are a few solid supporters, at Upper Thames and from elsewhere in the world who sent me messages of good luck and hope, and it means a huge amount to me.
I have such a lot to be thankful for. Every day I count my blessings that I have this opportunity. Granted, we make our own luck and we put out to the universe the things we want out of life, but I have such a lot of support from the people around me, and the believers far outweigh the doubters and those who have put me down. Life chucks a curve ball, and it’s up to us to either catch it and throw it back, or let it smack us in the face. Team Zambia was a team of six this weekend. They were the wind beneath my eagle’s wings.
Now all I’ve got to do is get that bloody passport sorted out. Wish me luck. This could be the hardest part of all!
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