World champion rower Kerri Gowler tests out her new training bike in Wanganui during the brief break before starting preparations for the coming summer season.PHOTO/STUART MUNRO
World champion rower Kerri Gowler returned to where it began this week, still reflecting on a phenomenal year at international elite level.
The 20-year-old was in Wanganui briefly to pick up an essential new training tool for when she begins summer school at Lake Karapiro on Monday.
She arrived in Wanganui on Wednesday with mum Dianne to pick up a bike from the shop of cycling guru Ron Cheatley, who, with former world class cyclist Gary Anderson, customised it to suit Gowler's tall, lean, muscular frame.
Most rowers use bikes as part of training these days; not only for the low impact cardio-vascular workout, but also to get to-and-from training sessions.
Gowler has had a month off since winning gold at the World Rowing Championships in Amsterdam, where she claimed the title in the women's coxless fours alongside Grace Prendergast, Kelsey Bevan and Kayla Pratt. Gowler and Prendergast won the Under-23 women's pairs world title weeks before.
This past month has been her first real break for some time and apart from a few runs, Gowler has just enjoyed relaxing and settling down mentally and physically. Oh, apart from skydiving.
Gowler has spent most of her time off at the family farm in Halcombe near Feilding. But her mum Dianne confirmed Kerri and younger sister Jackie - an emerging rowing talent - were born in Raetihi Hospital and lived in Wanganui for the best part of a decade before moving to Halcombe.
Gowler was a boarder at Nga Tawa school in Marton, when she took up rowing - and immediately fell in love with the sport.
She joined the strong Aramoho-Wanganui Rowing Club and regularly trained on the Whanganui River. The rest is history in the making.
"I haven't rowed in Aramoho-Wanganui colours for a while now, but it was certainly that involvement that's got me to this level. It's a great club and I still have many friends from those days, although I haven't been able to catch up with them much lately," Gowler said.
"It's been a busy year and it's all still sinking in, really. I've enjoyed being home though, I think I'm still a farm girl at heart, but I am looking forward to getting back into training with the summer squad on Monday.
"I haven't done much apart from a bit of running, although I did go skydiving and that was a real buzz - I'd recommend that to anyone," she said.
However, father Brent Gowler disputed his daughter was taking it easy.
"She probably didn't tell you she was heading to the gym every day and doing quite a bit more than she's letting on during her break, but that's just her," he said.
Gowler first represented New Zealand in the women's eight in 2013 and was selected this year into the Under 23 pair with Prendergast, 22. The young guns sprang a surprise at the third and final 2014 World Cup regatta in Lucerne, Switzerland, when they won silver behind the British crew and ahead of New Zealand's regular elite pair of Wanganui's Rebecca Scown and partner Louise Trappitt.
Gowler and Prendergast then dominated the Under-23 world championship in Varese, Italy, and while Scown and Trappitt were retained as the women's pair for the World Championships in Amsterdam, Gowler and Prendergast were put with Bevan and Pratt to create a coxless four.
They were literally thrown together as a crew weeks before the non-Olympic race at the championships and had no gauge on how they compared with the other countries.
"We had no idea what to expect, but we ended up winning and I don't think that went down too well with the United States crew - we seemed to get a few dirty looks on the podium.
"I think they thought they had it in the bag before the race," Gowler said.
The Kiwi girls won the event over the US and Chinese crews by six seconds and beat the eight-year-old record by more than 10 seconds with their 6m 14.36s time, although governing body Fisa does not recognise world records for such races because of the contrasting conditions at venues and regattas.
Rowing NZ selectors have named Gowler among 52 rowers and one coxswain, 31 men and 22 women, to train as part of the summer squad for 2014/2015.
The squad boasts three Olympic gold medallists, three Olympic bronze medallists, 15 elite and 17 under-23 world champions.
They will be coached by Noel Donaldson, Richard Tonks, Mike Rodger, Calvin Ferguson and Dave Thompson, while competing at a number of regattas over the domestic season including the Karapiro Spring Regatta and the Karapiro Christmas Regatta.
Gowler and her fellow gold medallists are in the squad, but the make-up of teams for next year is unclear.
RNZ is aiming to have 14 boats at the Rio Olympics in 2016 and all rowers will have to earn their seats.
"I really enjoy rowing with Grace [women's pair], but I'll go in any crew the coaches say if I make it that far," Gowler said.
"We have three world cup regattas, the world championships and Olympic qualifiers to get through yet."
In the meantime, Gowler may yet do some papers during the year having been awarded the Prime Minister's Scholarship.
"I'm not sure what I want to study yet, but I'm leaning toward psychology and I might look at doing a couple of papers next year - in the meantime, rowing is my passion."