Julia Edward
It is a case of one year down and three to go for Julia Edward. The Rotorua rower has had another good year in the lightweight double scull, most recently placing fifth at the season-ending 2013 World Rowing Championships in August.
The 21-year-old has already thrown herself into training for next season with a long-term goal of winning a medal at the 2016 Rio Olympics.
"The goal is to medal at Rio. I definitely want to be there and medal there," she said.
"I feel like I've got the experience from London which is a big advantage for Rio, because it can be quite overwhelming.
"So becoming a world champion and getting on the podium at every world champs [leading up to the Olympics] is definitely a goal, and it is definitely realistic, I think."
Edward spent the international season this year rowing alongside teammate Lucy Strack in the New Zealand women's lightweight double sculls boat.
"We're really good friends. We rowed together in 2010 at the world champs in New Zealand.
"That was our debut at the elite level. So we've been friends for quite a while."
She said the entire summer would be about preparing for next year and securing her seat in the New Zealand boat for next season.
She said there was a small group of elite girls competing for the two seats in the boat for next season, all of whom were based in Cambridge for the summer.
"We're in the summer squad here at Lake Karapiro, at the high performance centre. There are four of us lightweight girls in the squad."
The four girls include Edward, Strack, Louise Ayling, and new young talent Sophie McKenzie.
"I have to be a bit selfish ... I'll work really hard this summer and make sure my spot in the boat is safe."
Edward missed out on racing in the New Zealand women's team in 2011, an experience she believed made her stronger.
"It made me stronger coming back from that, and getting dropped showed me how hard I had to work to hold my seat in the boat," she said.
Edward said she was happy with the season just passed - which included two world cups and her best finish at a world champs.
"Every year you have three world cups ... then the pinnacle event is the world champs," she said.
They won gold at the first world cup in Sydney, skipped the second world cup, won bronze at the third world cup in Switzerland, then came fifth at the world champs in South Korea.
"[The highlight of the year] was probably competing at the third world cup because I love rowing at Lucerne in Switzerland.
"It's dark green water and just a beautiful lake. In the final we had a terrible first 1000m but in the last 1000m we just flew and managed to finish third."
She said the world champs were always good, too, racing against the best in the world at the biggest event of the year.
Edward said it was also a great honour being named as a finalist for Sportswoman of the Year at the 2013 Bay of Plenty Sports Awards. The awards night will be held in Tauranga on November 22.
Edward's next big regatta will be the nationals in February.
New Zealand trials will be in March and, if all goes well, she will leave overseas in May to compete in the first world cup of 2014.