Mum's the word in Grainger gold quest

Published on Tuesday 29 March 2011 20:03

THREE-TIME Olympic silver medallist Katherine Grainger is used to working as part of a team, normally with other rowers. Yesterday, however, the 35-year-old was joined by her mother as the two helped launch the Bank of Scotland's 2011 Local Heroes initiative.

Now in its second year, Local Heroes has expanded the number of young Scots athletes in its programme. The number has increased from 32 in 2010 last year to 82 this time, with each of the young athletes receiving a grant of up to 1,000.

Those athletes, all of whom were nominated by their national governing bodies, were in Scotstoun yesterday to hear Grainger and her fellow-Olympian Jonathan Edwards speak about their experiences, and to participate in a day-long workshop designed to help prepare them for the pressures of a full-time sporting career. "Local Heroes helps on two levels," Grainger said. "It helps financially, and a little bit of money can make a big difference, and it helps with days like these, because of the range of things they get taught. There are psychologists here, they're getting media training, past and current Olympians are talking about their own experiences, and the parents who are here have been getting advice in how to deal with a sporting son or daughter - from my mum.

"That was interesting, because I've never really talked about her life as a sporting parent. She talked a lot about the disappointments I've had, and about how much having that solid rock of parental support can help athletes get through almost anything.

"She experienced Beijing, when in her words I was quite distraught by the result. There's nothing a parent can say at that point. Nothing can help when you've hit a low point of your career. But as she said, 'It's still your little daughter there. You just want to give her a hug and make sure she's okay'."

Many athletes would gladly swap Grainger's "low points" for their own biggest achievements, and in a sense she is proud of having won a silver medal at a third successive Games. But in her eyes it represented no improvement, at least in terms of the result, eight years and countless hours of hard work on from her first silver.

She took time out to contemplate her future, and since deciding to continue has devoted herself wholeheartedly to taking another crack at winning that elusive gold. The next big step towards it is next month, when the Great Britain team's selection trials take place, and on form Grainger and Anna Watkins should be chosen for the double sculls, the event in which they are world champions. Given the intensity of competition within the squad, however, the Scot is taking nothing for granted."Even though you might have won the world championships the previous year, there's no guarantee that you'll retain your place in that boat with that person," she said. "It's constantly competitive - everyone needs to fight for their place again. It's certainly not a formality."