Grainger rides out ‘roller coaster’

Olympics: Scots rower puts selection roller coaster behind her

Katherine Grainger travels to her fifth Olympics tomorrow after a “rollercoaster” period which saw her miss out on initial selection.

The 40-year-old Scot won Olympic gold at London 2012 after silvers at three prior Olympics.

Grainger will row in the double sculls with Vicky Thornley at Lagoa, but as recently as early last month the pair had tried to break into the eight-woman boat.

Grainger – who won the double sculls four years ago with Anna Watkins – knew she would find returning after her post-London two-year sabbatical challenging, but the experience was difficult in more ways than she anticipated.

“There was a surprise, almost, it could be this hard. I didn’t foresee it when I came back,” she said.

“I knew coming back was a huge task for me physically and mentally, getting back in a boat and back to where my standards were and expectations were. I always saw that as being the biggest test I’d face.

“I accepted that was the price you pay for taking time out.

“I didn’t then expect to go through the roller coaster this year, which was challenging in very different ways.

“It is hard, but it didn’t ever make me think ‘I wish I hadn’t come back’.”

Grainger and Thornley were selected in the double sculls, where rowers use two oars, in February, but tried to switch to the eight after finishing fourth at European Championships in Germany in May. They felt they had underperformed, but weather conditions were poor.

They had trials for the larger boat but the selectors, led by British Rowing performance director Sir David Tanner, opted to stick to the crews as they were.

Grainger and Thornley were therefore not named among Team GB’s rowers when the announcement was made on June 9, instead having to wait until June 26.

“Every ambitious athlete wants to be in the fastest boat they can be in,” Grainger added.

“We felt we had a good chance in the double, but we’d have a better chance in the eight.

“There were a few weeks at a crucial time in the year where there was uncertainty about which was the right way to go.

“In a way it’s always harder when there’s options there. We’ve been back in the double since and it is that simple: you focus your mind on what you need to do. The double has gone a lot better since.”

Asked about Grainger’s Olympic pedigree, Thornley – a finalist in the women’s eight at London 2012 – said: “You’ve got to put the storylines to one side as it’s not what makes the boat go faster.

“It’s about writing our history now,” she added.

Picture: PA. Focused on Rio: Katherine Grainger travels to her fifth Olympics tomorrow.