Paddling up and down the short stretch at the bottom of the playing fields in a big clinker dinghy. The over-hanging tree I always collided with on the far side is still there!

First session at 0715 (having stretched) – 1hr 45 mins on the water.
Second breakfast (highlight of the day!)
Second session 1115 – usually a high intensity session on the water or rowing machine – e.g. 30 mins as hard as you can.
Lunch
Nap
Third session 1600 – weights in the gym.
Eat
Sleep
Oh – and having to report your weight, and have your hydration tested every morning, and having blood taken during the hardest sessions to check how hard you are working.

More naps, less training!

Standing on the Olympic podium in Rio realising that this was the culmination of a life-time’s dedication, and sharing that moment with my teammates.

Not so much surprised me, but confirmed my suspicions. It reminded me how often it comes down to the simplest things.

Gosh, great question… So many to choose from… In a way I feel like my career was like a jigsaw of mistakes, learnt from over and over – tiring, but so necessary. Perhaps then I’d pick out my mantra: “If there’s a book of mistakes between where you are now and where you want to get to, just keep turning the page.”

On the start line in Rio I had one last chance to get it right. ‘Learnings From Five Olympic Games’ is the accumulation of my notes and learnings from over my twenty-one-year career and the story of how I applied them. Every element that lay behind creating my ultimate race is distilled into simple points – from the characteristics of the best teams I was in and how we built trust, to how I learnt to handle nerves and my go-to mantras. Interspersed throughout are stories and illustrations to bring those learnings to life.

First of all, I felt it would simply be a waste not to share what I had learnt from a performance perspective over such a long career, competing both as an individual and in teams. I made as many mistakes as had ‘successful’ days, and wish I could have known those learnings from the start!

Secondly, the images on a TV screen don’t convey the internal lived experience of pursuing something for so long. In L5OGs, I interweave the story of how I changed as a person, what I learnt about working with others in such a pressurised environment, and what I really found rewarding about it in the end.

There are so many negative stories about the pressure and toll of elite sport at the moment, but I feel very positive about my career. Even though I never achieved my goal, I wanted to tell my version of how. Yes, it was hard, but above all, it was immensely rewarding.

Yes. So many people nudged me to ‘do a video’ or ‘write a blog’, but I wanted to create something completely unique and that I could hold in my hand. It took me over twenty years to gather these experiences, to learn from them, and then test and refine those learnings in the environment under pressure … and another four to articulate them clearly … It was clear to me what the book was about and I didn’t want a third party to change that. I also wanted to produce something that people could keep referring back to – like I did, leafing through my notes in the week of the Olympic final. Because of the beautiful paper I have chosen to use and the illustrations throughout, I’ve heard people call it their ‘espresso bar book’! It’s taken a long time, but I’m so glad I have done it this way. I have worked with incredible people down here in Cornwall on every element of getting the book completed and available – from Phylly the formatter in Falmouth, to Roy the Printer in Lostwithiel. In fact, like my rowing career, collaborating with experts has been a highlight of the whole experience.

As an object: my competitors medal from Sydney 2000 (few people know that every Olympian gets a medal for competing!). Although I came almost last, I’m proud that I had the presence of mind to enjoy the moment of being a part of something so spectacular.

I feel very fortunate to live where I do. The restrictions mean less travelling for work, but on the plus side, this has meant I can spend more time in Cornwall, getting into a rhythm and building a sense of home here for the first time since moving down four years ago.

Aside from adapting my mentoring, speaking and performance consulting work to go online, I’m doing lots of walking – coastal and inland. For me, treading the footpaths and getting to know a place at a slow pace is a  huge part of making a place a home.

Hmm. Feeding so many hungry minds requires pudding. I’d be happy as long as it ended with a big bowl of good old bread and butter pudding with plenty of crusty bits and school custard.

What’s inside of you is enough. Give yourself permission to believe in yourself.