The row to Rio

Halfway through the cycle, many new faces from those that raced at the London 2012 Olympics, have come on to the scene and although goals are set annually, in the back of their minds their thoughts are pointed forward, to the quickly approaching Rio Games.

In 2012, Magdalena Lobnig of Austria won the World Rowing Under 23 Championships in the women’s single sculls. Half-way to Rio and with a few senior-level races under her belt, Lobnig not only looks to be on her way to her first Olympic Games, but also with the potential to medal. Lobnig finished fourth at the 2013 World Rowing Championships and held fifth place in Amsterdam this year. A relative newcomer, Lobnig has worked her way up through the ranks and was on the podium twice in 2014 World Rowing Cup series. “I want to go fast now,” says Lobnig. “I don’t want to wait for any opportunities.”

Lobnig has chosen the women’s single and calls it her preferred boat class. “I like rowing in the single, I feel very independent and you can bring your own performance. Yes, it’s losing alone, but it is also winning alone,” Lobnig says. She will be aiming for Rio and using every race along the way as a stepping stone. “I want to have an Olympic medal. I also want to finish university and then it is hard to say. Everything is open.”

While Lobnig’s battle is in the single, it is a completely different mind-set to step into the Olympic Champion boat for Germany, the men’s eight. Malte Jakschik did just that. “I was really lucky to be able to row in the pair with Maximilian Reinelt (7 seat in the Olympic Champion eight) since last autumn. It was perfect and I learned very quickly with him. The selections were made from the pair’s results so I luckily got into the eight,” Jakschik says.

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Jakschik is one of the youngest in the boat. At just 21 years old, he competed in his first senior-level event in 2013. Stepping into the Olympic Champion eight could be daunting, but the culture on the team made it easy for Jakschik. “Actually they welcomed me into the team and I don’t feel there is a big difference between me and them in terms of how the group is working. We really try to work together as a team and it doesn’t really matter what titles everyone has. So everyone can say his word about technique and anything, even me,” Jakschik says.

For the young rower, the Olympics were never part of his childhood dreams, but rather something that came into his vision bit-by-bit. Preferring to think season by season, Jakschik’s focus was all about making the eight and this year’s World Championships. Making the eight was the first step, “and hopefully it will bring me to Rio for the Olympic Games,” he says.

Following suit with the step-by-step philosophy are Fiona Bourke and Zoe Stevenson of New Zealand’s women’s double sculls. Bourke raced in the women’s quadruple sculls at the 2012 Olympic Games, but the unthinkable happened.

“We had a bit of a disaster with a broken oar during our race. So to have that dream taken away from you, and the fact that you didn’t even have the chance to try and achieve your dream, that was pretty hard to deal with. So this time it’s about making it right and making sure we’re in a positon where no one can take it away from us,” Bourke says who has been playing out these words by winning gold in the women’s double at this year’s World Rowing Championships.

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Part of that strategy is coming to training everyday trying to make gains. “You can’t just think ‘in Rio I want to be awesome,'” Bourke says. “You’ve got to be awesome every day to perform on that one important day.”

The road to Rio is still a long one. The first Olympic Qualification regatta will take place in one year’s time at the 2015 World Rowing Championships in Aiguebelette, France. With the conclusion of the 2014 Championships, these athletes are back to work, preparing already for that coveted Olympic medal.