Nutley wins 2000 metres race
THE Oceania Indoor Rowing Championships took place on Saturday December 5 and because of travel restrictions, this event took place virtually.
Steve Nutley, one of the partners’ of KPMG Fiji took part in the event and won his age-group 2000 metres event with a time of 6 minutes 38.6 seconds and the 500 metres event with a time of 1 minute 28.1 seconds and so qualifies for both the respective world championship finals in February.
“I really started rowing when the gyms and pools closed earlier in the year; I bought a second-hand rowing machine and got hooked,” he said.
“I had a triathlon background and it was not too difficult to make the transition – YouTube videos provide helpful technique instructions.
“Then it was a question of applying this to the training.
“It is one of those sports where a monitor is in front of you while you row, so it is difficult to avoid statistics, such as speed, distance etc.
“However, I find the hardest thing is the mental side to it — when I am struggling during fast sessions and races, I try to concentrate on technique and counting strokes, it helps distract the body from giving up.
“It was also interesting doing a virtual race, it is one of those events where it doesn’t really matter whether the race is virtual or everyone is at the same location — except you miss out on the camaraderie of like minded people.
“Finally, I was very pleased with the results — it had been a goal of mine almost from the first month of getting the rowing machine to finish in the world championships top ten.
“Having the races virtual made it easier for more people to compete, particularly in these challenging times for travel. I now have a few months, including Christmas, to carry on training and see how much farther I can improve before the world championships.”