Rowing: Loe-down on world's best

Double sculls world champions Olivia Loe and Brooke Donoghue are targeting the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. Photo / Photosport

Olivia Loe's recollection of the first time rowing impacted her remains vivid.

She was 13 and attending St Margaret's College in Christchurch, which was and remains a significant player in schools rowing.

"Rowing was big there. You'd see the teams leave on their bikes each afternoon [to go training] and it looked fun.

"A big team, lots of people, everyone enjoying themselves and I thought 'that'll do, I'll give that a go'."

Fast forward and out of that acorn grew a world champion rower with her sights set on the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

Loe and double sculls partner Brooke Donoghue, at 23 three years the younger, made a formidable combination in their first campaign together last year.

They won both World Cup regattas at Poznan and Lucerne, the celebrated Henley regatta in England, then marched to the world championship title in Florida by 1.5s over the host nation.

Both had won medals in two under-23 world championship regattas in different crews.

They are a good example of how a combination don't need similar personalities.

Last year, we came in under the radar. But this time, we're coming back as world champions.

Olivia Loe on her double sculls partnership with Brooke Donoghue

"We were very focused and really critical of ourselves," Loe said of last year.

"We worked really hard and had high standards and held ourselves accountable to those."

Loe admits she is "a bit chattier, but it works, and when we're on the water, we're the same. At home, we're probably different people, but the way we execute and handle ourselves on the water, we're very similar."

Donoghue, from Waikato, missed out on the 2016 Rio Olympics at the final qualifying regatta when the women's quad finished third and missed the Games by three seconds.

Now things are different and the scullers know they will be wearing a bullseye at Linz next weekend at the second World Cup regatta (New Zealand skipped the first) and at Lucerne during July 13-15.

"Last year, we came in under the radar. Brooke and I were in our first tour in the elite crews and no one knew what we were capable of. But this time, we're coming back as world champions and a bit more known," Loe said.

Older sister Jess rowed on the national programme but retired four years ago. Their father is former All Black prop Richard Loe.

So what sort of sporting father is the old, hard man of the scrum, strong and silent or bellowing encouragement from the bank?

"He's a little bit in the background. He gives me a call, gives me a little advice, 'how did that go?' or 'what's next?' He's very supportive."

Loe is from farming stock, and appeals as a practical, roll the sleeves up and get on with it sort. She rode horses through school, played a bit of rugby — "thank you to my Dad" — and sport was "something I really enjoyed. I'm really competitive so I loved getting better at things".

She relished the idea of representing New Zealand, if not entirely sure at what for a time.

"I thought it was so far out of reach. Sport was massive growing up, every day after school, weekends on the TV."

Now it's Loe on the TV, representing New Zealand.

There's pragmatism in how she views the outcome of races, too.

"We go out to win and perform, and execute really well. If something doesn't work out the way we want, it's something we have to learn from and move on. It's part of sport. There's a winner and a loser. You can't always control that."