The Long Road to Success...: Eights Head Selection

Welcome...

My name is Laura Wheeler, from Burton-on-Trent in Staffordshire. My aim is to gain selection for the Great Britain senior rowing squad. Following a long break from competitive rowing I got back into training in the summer of 2009 at Trent Rowing Club. With it being such a small club I made the move to Nottingham Rowing Club in order to progress further. I train as part of the High Performance squad at NRC and coached by Dez Atkins. We train during normal working hours so in order to join the programme I had to reduce my working hours. The squad is made up of like minded athletes and there's nothing like a bit of competition to drive you on.

Friday 11 March 2011

Eights Head Selection

Well we have finally been told who will be racing at WEHORR. The crew is from bow to stroke Grace Neal, Nikki Spencer, Laura Wheeler, Lindsay Marshall, Fiona Bassett, Pippa Whittiker, Lauren Fisher, Jacqui Round coxed by Tamsin Cottle.

We had two outings in the crew last Sunday and it seemed to go well. This weekend we are doing our outings alongside the men's 4x's that are taking part in the World Class Start camp so we can do some piece's against some opposition.

I've also had an email from Dez this week to say that I am invited down to a GB training weekend in Caversham where I will also be required to do the 2km ergo test for selection.

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About Me

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Name: Laura Wheeler
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Date of Birth: 16/02/1985
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Born: Burton-on-Trent, Staffordshire
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Nationality: British
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Sport: Rowing
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Club: Nottingham Rowing Club
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Coach: Dez Atkins
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Team: Senior Heavyweight
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Height: 183cm
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Weight: 82kg
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Arm Span: 185cm
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Biography

I first took up rowing at the age of 16 as part of my silver Duke of Edinburgh award. I went down to my local club Burton Leander RC during in January which as you may guess is not the best time to start an outdoor sport. The cold weather and dark nights meant there was lots of land based training with water crew just on weekends. I learnt to row first rather than scull (this means I only had 1 blade rather than 2) and in the summer I lost my novice point at Shrewsbury Regatta. Following a good first summers racing we went back into the long cold slog of winter.

This is where most novices decide it’s not quite what they thought but having started in the winter I was more than prepared for what lay ahead. In November I won a Bronze medal at the British Indoor Rowing Championships for the J16 age category. Following this result I was invited to the junior GB trials in the February. I raced in a 2- with another member of our club and although we did not have a very good performance I was invited back for further trialing later on in the year in a different 2-. I got all the way though the trialing system to final trials but unfortunately didn’t make the team that year.

The following year I went through the same trials process and was selected to race for the GB junior team. I made up part of the 4- that would go to Coupe de la Jeunesse in Hazwinkle, Belgium. I raced with team mates Ava Goodman, Hannah Elsy and Katie Knowles to win 2 Gold medals. The team had a successful year and not only won the overall team trophy but also both the girls and the boys team trophies. This was a great experience and a very proud moment to race in the national team kit.

The following year I suffered with injury, injuring both my shoulder and hip flexor. I was sent to physio by the GP and it was some time before I could consider rowing again. Whilst I was injured I found it impossible to stay away from the sport and helped in the coaching of the juniors. Once injury free squad politics made it such that I did not want to train within the group and I continued to coach and became Junior Co-ordinator of the club. I had great pleasure from coaching seeing the juniors have fun out on the water and then go onto race. I actually got more nervous when they raced than when I raced myself.

I then moved to Southampton after employment as a community sports coach with British Rowing. I spent my time coaching between 4 clubs 3 in Southampton and 1 in Ryde on the Isle of Wight. All 4 clubs are based on coastal waters and this was a very different type of racing to what I was used to.

Following a cut in funding for the post I returned back to Burton and started training at Trent Rowing Club. I got back to fitness much quicker than I thought I would and start producing some good results. My coach Digger Johnson then sat down with me and spoke about the opportunities within the sport for me. To get to where I wanted to go I would have to move to Nottingham Rowing Club. It hosts the only High Performance programme within the region and in Oct 2010 I joined the coach Dez Atkins at NRC.

I attended my first senior trials in December 2010 after having been medically exempt from October trials. I had some good result on the ergo test and was invited to form part of the squad that would train for the European Championship W8+. I failed to make the final 8 this year but to be involved within the group was a very positive step this year.

I look forward to seeing what I can achieve for the 2012 season.

Achievements

-Silver medal W4- Diamond Jubilee Rowing Championships 2012
-Represented England at Home International Regatta Gold medal in W8+ 2012
-Gold medal W2- British championships 2012
-Provincial pennant win WEHORR 2012
-Women's Elite 2- win Henley Women's Regatta 2011
-Senior pennant win WEHORR 2011
-Bronze medal in W2- National Championship 2010
-Provincial pennant win WEHORR 2004
-Silver medal in WStudent British Indoor Rowing Championship
-Represented GB at the Coupe de la Jeunesse 2003 (Junior Europeans) 2 Golds W4-
-Bronze medal in W4- National Championships 2003
-Provincial pennant win WEHORR 2003
-Bronze medal in WJ2- National Championships 2002