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“Always believe something wonderful is about to happen”

 

Date of birth:

 

1997

 

Results highlights:

K1 200 3rd in World Cup I 2021, K1 200 Jun 3rd & K1 500 Jun 3rd in Jun & U23 World Championships

Canoe idol?

It has to be Lisa Carrington!

Favorite distance and training?

My favorite distance is 500m and I love split training – lots of short effort and short rest.

Favorite paddle and boat?

My favorite paddle is Jantex Gamma Rio and my favorite boat is Nelo 7.

Motivation song?

Survival by Muse.

Any advice for beginners?

Be patient – if you enjoy it and are consistent with your training, everything will come together when it is supposed to!

Apart from physical training, do you have mental training scheduled in your routine?

Yes, I speak with the team psychologist around once a week and since last year we have been working to get me in to the best headspace for racing. I find meditation really useful when things get overwhelming or if I feel I am losing focus.

 

How do you manage to keep calm before and during a competition?

I always ask the staff and athletes around me to chat about anything and everything with me! I don’t like to be too quiet/on my own before racing.  We play a lot of card games in our team, so this keeps us occupied between racing.

 

What is a normal day like as a professional paddler?

After waking up, I do my mobility routine and have porridge and a coffee. Then I head to the first session (usually paddling), come home to sleep and eat, go back to paddle, come home to sleep and eat, go to the gym, come home to sleep and eat – its pretty simple really!

 

What are your hobbies apart from sport? What other activities are part from your routine?

I love music and singing, so sometimes I do this. Otherwise I just enjoy hanging out with my friends and going out for coffee and cake!

 

Is there a place you enjoy the most training? Why? And for competition?

I have had some amazing training camps at Roodeplaat in South Africa and the water in Banyoles in Spain is incredible.  For competitions, it has to be Szeged – best course and crowd in the world!

 

In the last World Cup I in Szeged you won your first medal as a Senior Athlete. What were your feelings like with this medal?

I still can’t believe it. To be stood next to Marta and Emma on the podium was crazy, I look up to them both so much.

 

What do you think is the key to become one of the best athletes in Europe in K1 200?

You have to be brave, in training and in racing. In training, you have to attack every speed session as hard as you can as they are short, and in the race there is no time to worry about what anyone else is doing, so you have to just go for it.

 

What are your expectations for Tokyo 2020ne Olympic Games?

I don’t really have any, it will be different to normal Games for sure, so I am going in with an open mind. I just want to race my best!

 

What have been the advantages / consequences of the postponement of the Olympic Games one year?

I have been quite anxious about covid-19, which has taken up a lot of mental energy.  But I don’t think I would have been ready to compete this time last year, so the extra 12 months has been really helpful for me to go back to basics and build myself up to race as well as possible this year.

Thank you Deborah and good luck in Tokio!