Cambridge's Imogen Grant is confident a golden start to the season can propel her to European Rowing Championship glory in Hungary.
The 28-year-old former Cambridge University Boat Club athlete will pair up with team-mate Emily Craig at the upcoming continental championships in Szeged – which get under way on 25 April – as the duo look to clinch a hat-trick of European titles in the women's lightweight double sculls.
Craig and Grant recently continued their unbeaten streak at the first World Cup of the season in Varese, coming away with another victory.
The pair have not lost since the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games but remain focused on self-improvement.
“It's quite a tight turnaround, usually there's three weeks between World Cup regattas but this one is just two,” Grant said.
“The championships side of things adds to the pressure a little bit but for us this season it's just about taking those next steps and that's what Europeans will be about for us.
“Emily has a longer winning streak than me but ultimately we're not even talking about winning the race, we're talking about racing ourselves and being a better crew than last regattas, last year and last Olympiad.”
The pair posted a time that was only five seconds off their own world best in Varese, setting themselves up perfectly ahead of the European Championships.
And with the searing hot weather also providing a practice run for the temperatures in Hungary, Grant believes that their 2024 debut on the water has helped prove just how dangerous they are this Olympic year.
“The night before the first regatta of Olympic year is so long, so the doubts can creep in no matter what the stop watch says in the winter,” she added.
“Being able to come out and prove that it's in us, we can be really proud of what we did. It sets us up really well for the rest of the season.”
Grant and Craig were able to hold their concentration following a disruption on the start line in Varese.
Canadian pair Jill Moffatt and Jennifer Casson lost control of an oar in the final, but it wasn't enough to deter the British duo.
Instead, Grant was pleased with how they were able to push the commotion out of their minds and focus on their own race, a key tactic to draw confidence from ahead of the European Championships.
“It's all we've been talking about all winter, the heat of that first regatta,” she said. “There are still unknowns in races.
“I don't quite know what happened that the start of the race with the Canadians but something like that can really throw off the race.
“We just didn't let it shake our rhythm and did what we needed to do.”
British Rowing is the governing body for the sport and is responsible for the development of rowing in England and the training and selection of rowers to represent Great Britain. The GB Rowing Team is supported by the National Lottery Sports Fund. To find out more, and to follow the team, head to www.britishrowing.org
