ERICA BODMAN has earned herself the right for a trial for the full Great Britain international women’s rowing squads.
It follows a major personal best performance on the ergometer at a GB under-23 training weekend at the Redgrave and Pinsent Rowing Lake in Caversham, the centre of GB rowing.
‘We did 2k erg tests on the Saturday morning and I got a 4.4 second PB with a time of 7min. 04.5sec.
‘I was really pleased with this as 7-05 is the time required to trial for the senior team.
‘However, as I still have more than a year left as an under-23 it is really encouraging,’ said the three-times Island Games high jump champion who turned to rowing after a persistent foot injury curtailed her athletics career.
One man who was very impressed by the news of Bodman’s new best time, is fitness guru and rower Colin Fallaize.
‘That’s impressive stuff,’ said Fallaize.
‘It’a tough old sport and in terms of fitness, it’s right up there,’ he added.
The 21-year-old trainee teacher remains optimistic about her future in rowing.
‘It will put me in a strong position when I start under-23 trials in October.
‘I still don’t react very well to the lactic of a 2k erg. I threw up 10min. after my test and again about 60min. after. To let my body recover I’ve been going to bed at 8.30-9pm, although I’m still shattered. I think it will take a few days.
‘The rest of the weekend I was training in a double with Atlanta St John, a girl who won a bronze medal at the 2007 under-23 world championships in the quadruple scull.
‘It’s great to row with someone with that kind of experience.’
Fallaize confirmed that Bodman’s 2k time was comfortably ahead of anything any other local woman rower was able to produce and better than most men.
‘Put a good fit person on there and see if they will get close [to 7-04.5]. I doubt it,’ he said.
Guernsey’s leading ergometer performers are men such as Tom de Kooker, who has done a 6min. 16sec.
‘Simon Johns is a 6-20 to 6-25, Matt Harradine is around the 6-20s as is Paul Isaac and Sam de Kooker.’
However, all of them may soon be left in the wake of newcomer Robert Stark, who is of elite national standard and is said to post times close to the six-minute barrier.
Article posted on 25th March, 2009 - 2.30pm
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