ROWING: Two time Olympian, Sally Kehoe says the strength of the current Australian women’s sculling squad is the best she has ever seen and is bound for success at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games.
Kehoe, who represented Australia at the Beijing 2008 and London 2012 Games in the women’s eight, will be looking to make her third Olympic appearance but knows there is plenty of work to do before she secures her spot for Rio.
“At the moment I'm not really looking past Olympic trials in February,” said the 29-year-old who is excited by the competition for coveted Olympic sculling spots.
“This is definitely the strongest overall sculling squad that I’ve ever been a part of over three Olympiads.”
The Toowoomba born athlete says the technical and physical ability of the squad has stepped up another level, and the process of competing against one another for selection will ultimately be beneficial in Rio.
“This internal competition is leading to, what should be, some really good results overseas this year leading into Rio and at Games themselves.
“This is a process. We are all competing pretty hard against each other, but I think at the end of the day whatever crews are selected will be stronger for it.”
A keen swimmer as a youngster, with little exposure to rowing in Toowoomba, Kehoe never dreamt of taking up the sport let alone becoming an Olympian.
But after attending boarding school at Brisbane’s St Margaret’s, Kehoe got her first taste and quickly made the switch from the black line to a boat.
Throughout her school years, Kehoe says she was very fortunate to have had highly experienced coaches who opened her eyes to the opportunities and the pathways of elite sport.
“That was the most important thing, knowing what the pathway was and that it is not unrealistic or impossible for a girl who grew up in Toowoomba who has never known of this sport called rowing.”
Fast forward and Kehoe is now a dual Olympian having placed sixth at both Beijing and London.
Despite both Games experiences being similar on paper, Kehoe says they were completely different from one another.
“We went into Beijing ranked well, having recently placed second in a World Cup behind the eventual Olympic Gold medallists, the USA, but we were all very young, naïve and didn’t quite understand the enormity of the Olympic Games.”
Injuries and unfavourable preparation left the crew disappointed that they were not able to execute a race that reflected their potential.
Four years on, Kehoe found herself disappointed that she was not selected in a London sculling crew, and had to re-assess her personal goals for another Olympic campaign competing in the eight.
“I had a look at what I expected and what I wanted to get out of it, and I knew that that crew was unrealistic to get a goal medal or silver medal,” said Kehoe.
After a last minute qualification only three months before the Games, the women’s eight, equipped with a “nothing to lose” attitude, secured a spot in the Olympic final.
“When we got to London I can honestly say that our best race was the final,” said Kehoe.
“The greatest thing was that every single one of us had our best race of the season in that final which was so much more satisfying than finishing sixth in Beijing and not really understanding why we weren’t doing as well as we should have.”
After a year off after the 2012 Games, Kehoe made the move to Adelaide to train with South Australian coach, Jason Lane and was partnered with 23-year-old Olympia Aldersey in the double sculls.
The pair went on to break the world record in the semi-final of the 2014 World Championships, showing great promise two years out from the Rio Games.
Unfortunately the 2015 World Championships did not bring about the same result, with the pair finishing fourth in the final, just out of reach of a medal.
“It's bit hard to pinpoint exactly what went wrong,” said Kehoe.
“I wish there was one thing that we could have identified as the problem and just go away and fix it, but I think it was probably a consequence of a lot of things.”
Rather than letting the experience deter her, Kehoe is using the less than perfect result as a learning experience, with many telling her ‘at least it didn’t happen at the Olympics.’
“Having been to the Olympics and essentially stuffing up in 2008, those people are right. To go through a poor performance and bad experience the year before, brings about lessons to learn both on and off the water.”
Despite having qualified a boat for Rio, Kehoe along with the seven other members of the women’s sculling squad will be fighting to secure one of six seats in the double or quad scull events.
But she will be working as hard as possible to ensure she is at the first South American Games.
“I remember when they announced Rio. I remember saying to my family, six years ago 'well looks like I'm going to Rio'.”
“I think it will be pretty special, the party atmosphere and I think the locals will get right in behind it,” said Kehoe who has no doubt in her mind that Rio will be prepared for the Games, despite earlier rumours of poor water quality.
“It happens every Olympics Games no matter where it is, the media always like to jump on something negative about the place and claim that it could have been done better.”
“Whatever the story is, I think at the end of the day the Organising Committee pulls it together and the Olympics are always a great event.”
Kehoe is completely focused and committed to training at the moment, with three sessions a day across six days a week.
The entire Rowing Australia team will turn their focus to Olympic Team selection with round two of trials being held at the end of January.
Athletes will all be put through indoor erg testing, before the main trials for boat selection in February.
Having qualified seven Olympic boats (W1x, M2x, W2x, M4x, W4x, M2- and M4-) for the Olympics at the 2015 World Championships, Rowing Australia will also look to qualify any remaining boats at the Final Olympic Qualification regatta in Lucerne, Switzerland this May.
Ashleigh Knight
olympics.com.au
