Scown off to Rio as member of advanced Olympic party

HOMETOWN GIRL: Rebecca Scown (seen here in her pairs days) still has fond memories of her Wanganui hometown. PHOTO/FILE A_0108NZHBPOLYMPICS423

STILL buzzing from her silver medal as stroke for the New Zealand women's eight at the World Rowing Champs at Lake Aiguebilette, France, Wanganui's Rebecca Scown has headed to Rio as a member of the advance party ahead of the 2016 Olympic Games.

Just 24 hours after the world champs, planning began with senior members of the New Zealand rowing team en route to the Olympic venue at Lagoa Rodrigo de Freitas, in the heart of Rio. Among the travelling party was Scown.

Fellow Wanganui export Paul Harrison caught up with Scown before boarding her flight to Rio.

Harrison, who sold his Auckland food business and is living in France for the next year at least, managed a brief telephone conversation with Scown and filed this report.

"Yeah, I'm really pleased with our result," Scown said of the women's eights final.

"We knew we had a crew that could achieve a podium finish if we rowed our best possible race on the day. The World Championships is a tough event, made more challenging by the end to secure Olympic qualification. And we are really thrilled with the result," she said.

"We have some amazing talent, and some really young girls who haven't had a lot of international experience, and one who hasn't rowed in the U23's team yet."

For a seasoned international competitor, Harrison said Scown remained proud of her Wanganui heritage.

"Wanganui is a great place to start rowing, and can certainly lead to some amazing opportunities internationally," she said.

With the US dominant in the women's eights it will be an arduous task for the Kiwis.

"We know that once we get home and start training again, the training will be tough," Scown said. "But we have a young team with talent that I know we can progress with."