Olympic gold medal-winning rower Katherine Grainger: Unfinished business motivated my return to the sport

 
Champion: Katherine Grainger (left) celebrates her success at the 2012 Olympics
Jochan Embley27 November 2014

Olympic gold medal-winning rower Katherine Grainger thinks a feeling of unfinished business was behind her return to the sport.

Grainger, 40, took top prize for Britain alongside Anna Watkins at the 2012 Games in London, but decided to take a break from the sport in the aftermath.

In September this year, she announced her intention to return to training in a bid to compete at the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.

“[I made the decision] when it was lovely,” Grainger told social media platform KICCA. “It was balmy weather, it was sunny, it was bright days.

“Obviously since then it’s got colder, it’s got darker, it’s got wetter, it’s got windier and in all honesty, the novelty has sort of worn off now.

“[But] I think the reassuring bit is when I get back in a boat – it feels right.

“Physically, I’ve definitely got some ground to make up. It’s a bit like the mind is willing, but the body is still a little bit weaker on that front, and that will just take time.”

Grainger added her decision was motivated by a hunger for greater success.

“I chose to go back because I never felt I was really finished,” she said. “I didn’t retire, I just took time out.

“I know, realistically, I will probably never have a better moment than London, but it doesn’t mean that I want to stop there.

“It’s a massive ask, having taken two years’ break, and to then go back with less than two years to the next Olympics.

“That’s me taking on the biggest challenge I’ve ever taken on. To some extent, that’s the attraction of it.”

KICCA is the brand new social media platform for sports stars and their millions of fans. Exclusive star content every day from hundreds of the biggest sporting names on the big events, crammed with exclusive video, photos and comment on all smart devices. KICCA.COM - the new authentic voice of sport by the stars, for the fans.

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