Annabelle McIntyre barely seems to be at her Olympic gold medal, aside from throwing the odd cursory look at it is spot on her bed room shelf.
However the considered successful one other one in Paris will gasoline her for the subsequent 16 months – and for a lot of rowers of the same way of thinking, preparations will go up a gear on the Australian Rowing Championships subsequent week.
The championships will likely be held at Champion Lakes from March 27 to April 2, marking an finish to the nationals’ 11-year absence from WA.
After successful gold in Tokyo as a part of the coxless fours, McIntyre has turned her consideration to conquering the pairs with Jess Morrison subsequent 12 months, after the duo completed seventh on the final Olympics.
“There’s not a lot distinction between the 2 boats, there’s slightly little bit of a rhythm change, slightly bit extra time, as a result of the boat velocity’s a bit slower within the pairs, so that you simply make small diversifications,” McIntyre mentioned.
Regardless of coming back from the final Olympics with a victory, McIntyre mentioned the only gold medal served as a reminder she had unfinished enterprise.
“It’s a good reminder of the truth that we did not obtain what we needed to realize in Tokyo, which was the 2 gold medals, which some would possibly say is a little bit of a dream, nevertheless it’s a superb reminder that we nonetheless have work to do.”
McIntyre won’t be competing within the nationals resulting from harm, however fellow WA Olympian Giorgia Patten will likely be amongst these flying the flag for WA.
With this 12 months’s World Rowing Championships in Belgrade doubling as qualification for the Olympics, Patten – a member of the Australian eight who completed seventh in Tokyo – mentioned pleasure was constructing inside rowing ranks with the clock starting to tick.
“Having fallen in need of the aim going into Tokyo, which was positively a medal or a gold medal for that eight, you come residence and return to the drafting board and have a look at the place we went fallacious, or areas of enchancment,” she mentioned. .
“Now we have accomplished numerous work in the direction of that and the eight is wanting actually sturdy on this marketing campaign once more, and we’ve numerous returning athletes which have come again from Tokyo as nicely.
“As a result of our picks are already accomplished, there’s not numerous weight held for nationals for our racing, so for us, it is a actually good alternative to maintain going on the market, practising our race plans and and maintain honing in on these finer issues .”
With greater than 430 WA athletes – a far cry from the 40 who traveled to Victoria for final 12 months’s nationals – set to compete at Champion Lakes, McIntyre hailed the venue as probably the greatest in Australia.
“Champion Lakes is certainly one of two purpose-built racing lakes for not solely rowing but additionally canoeing and kayaking. Other than wind circumstances, the course itself has a set normal of equity, the depth needs to be a certain quantity, the lanes need to be a sure width and it is all very constant,” she mentioned.
“That makes it a fantastic place to race, as a result of other than the climate circumstances, it creates a way of equity for all opponents.”
