Bennett: ‘You’ve only got one life, so I might as well give it a shot’
◆ Rower has been through tough times with family tragedy but she is now building towards her goal of winning another Olympic medal
A few days in a desk job were enough to drive Karen Bennett back into training for the Olympics.
The Edinburgh rower stepped away from the sport in 2022 to spend time with family and signed up for work experience in a sales role. It’s fair to say it didn’t float the boat of the two-time Olympian.
“I was just turning up and thinking, ‘this is it now, for the rest of my life?’” said the Rio Olympic silver medallist.
“If I hadn’t come back to the sport and answered the question, right now I’d probably be in my sales job thinking ‘what if ’ and mentally tripping myself up.
“You’ve only got one life, so I might as well give it a shot.”
That carpe diem mentality is far from a throwaway line – it has taken Bennett a lot of pain, patience, and practice to get to that point.
The 35-year-old’s world was turned upside down when her father, Davie, passed away just eight weeks before the Tokyo Olympics.
Family tragedy has sharpened Bennett’s focus on health and wellbeing to such an extent that she has started a personal training business, and it played a part in her decision to return to rowing.
“It’s quite hard to talk about because there aren’t any words that describe what you go through,” she said. “It’s a constant, it’s with you all the time and I think I’ll always be going through it.
“You want to live life to the fullest and that’s what I’m trying to do. I’m trying to make my family proud and get the family name out there, as well.”
Years later the weight of grief still lies heavy – too heavy for Bennett to take with her into the boat.
“It’s tricky because when I think about it, I get really emotional,” she said. “If I think about him on the start line, I’d be in a hysterical state.
“It’s in the back of my mind and there is that hunger to do it for him, but it’s still hard to talk about. I’m still going through it and it’s part of me.”
In the aftermath of Tokyo, Bennett and the rest of the rowing world sat back and watched as the British team stole a march on their rivals. Bennett’s women’s four was one of six Team GB crews to finish fourth at the postponed Games and the bounce back from that disappointment was instant and emphatic. GB have finished first and second in the medal table at the last two World Championships.
“The girls were doing so well and performing the best they have for a long time, and I wanted to be part of it,” said Bennett.
“It’s a different type of training now, we’ve got a new head coach (Andrew Randell) who’s doing a really good job and helping my body get used to it.
“I’m a year older and coming back in, I’m thinking about things differently and it’s been a positive comeback.”
Like Bennett, two-time Olympic champion and mumof-three Helen Glover is back in the breach at Caversham and building the momentum behind the women’s squad. “When I came into the team in 2015, Helen was someone I looked up to and I still look up to her,” said Bennett. “As a younger athlete, I was asking her questions about seat racing, racing, and training. She was very helpful when I first came into the fold.
“To be able to go to Tokyo with her was great and we’re now coming back in very different circumstances. I’m sure it’s been comfortable for her to have me there, and vice versa. We get on really well.”
Bennett is sharing her Olympic journey with partner John Collins. Collins, 35, is also aiming for his third Games having finished fifth and fourth at Rio 2016 and Tokyo 2020, respectively.
“We’ve been through some tough times together,” said Bennett. “Losing my Dad was a huge thing for me, but he lost his father-in-law and I some times forget the impact that has had on him.
“John has chosen to come back, and he’s absolutely determined to win a medal in Paris. I think having me back has given him a bit of comfort and confidence.”
Bennett is now one of over 1,000 elite athletes on UK Sport’s National Lottery-funded World Class Programme, allowing her to train full time, have access to the world’s best coaches and benefit from pioneering medical support.
She helped the women’s eight get qualified by finishing fourth at last year’s Worlds.
The eight, that went to Tokyo as a project boat and came last, is now a force to be reckoned with, winning European silver and World Cup gold in 2023.
For Bennett and team, the road to Paris rolls on at the World Cup opener in Varese and the European Championships in April. The prospect of a third Games with Team GB gives Bennett another layer of motivation – if she needed it.
“A third Olympics would be massive,” she said. “My quest from silver in Rio was to do better in Tokyo, but that didn’t happen, so the drive is there to get another medal.
“With the group of girls that are here now, I think they’re building something special and it’s exciting. It’s the first time in a long time that the team has been this way.
“To get another medal would be unbelievable. That is the goal, and I am building towards that.”
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I’m trying to make my family proud and get the family name out there, as well Karen Bennett