Southbridge cox steers for Rio
Dan Carter isn’t the only international sports star from Southbridge.
Francie Turner, who grew up on a dairy farm in Carter Country, is set to be part of the first New Zealand women’s eight to compete at an Olympics Games.
The Massey University graduate began her rowing career at Rangi Ruru Girls’ School. She holds the important role of coxswain in the women’s eight, responsible for verbally and physically controlling the boat’s steering, speed, timing and fluidity.
Turner completed a Bachelor of Business Studies by distance at Massey University in 2013.
‘‘It gave me flexibility so I could choose what time of day I studied, especially overseas, and when I had a break from rowing and fin- ished my degree, I was able to study on the Manawatu campus.’’ Turner’s team has been training at Lake Bohinj in Slovenia for the past few weeks and the focus has been on fine tuning and finding the last parts of top end speed.
‘‘Ultimately in Rio our performance goal is to executing the best race we can have, by bringing all aspects of our training together.
‘‘There are things I miss out on like hanging out with family and friends but what I’m about to be part of and competing at the Olympics is something that I could never turn down.’’
Turner will be supported in Rio by family members and her boyfriend Fred who are calling themselves ‘‘Turners on tour, plus Fred’’.
Turner has been part of multiple New Zealand crews including the 2015 world rowing championships where the team won a silver medal.
She also coxed the 2009 junior women’s eight which won silver and the 2010 and 2011 under-23 women’s eights which also won silver.