The Courier & Advertiser (Perth and Perthshire Edition)
Kirrie rower flies flag for GB at World University Championships in Poland
Robyn Hart-Winks in world university championships
A Kirriemuir woman is one of three Scots on the GB team for the World University Rowing Championships.
Robyn Hart-Winks, 22, will aim to build on the best season yet for Scottish rowing when she competes in the 31-strong British team at this weekend’s championships in Poznan, Poland.
The Edinburgh University graduate will compete in the lightweight women’s single scull, while Cameron Buchan competes in the men’s eight and Melissa Wilson is in the women’s single scull.
A former Highland dancing world champion, Hart-Winks became world indoor champion earlier this year before winning the women’s singles at the Henley regatta.
She benefited through Edinburgh University being home to Scotland’s first high performance programme for the GB rowing team.
“The university training programme is amazing and over the last few years the standard of rowing at Edinburgh has got so much better,” said Robyn, who is supported by Scottish Rowing, the sportscotland institute of sport and Winning Students.
“When I started it was run by volunteers, but now there is more investment we have professional coaches and it’s been amazing to see how the club has grown,” she added.
As the new Olympic cycle begins, and with an eye on the Tokyo 2020 Games, Hart-Winks has just made her move south and will start a part-time PGCE at the University College London next month.
“I’ll have finished university in two years’ time, which gives me two years before Tokyo and hopefully I’ll be able to keep training full on,” she said.
“Before that I would be aiming to go to a senior world cup, or a senior world championships over the next year.”