- January 2018
Personal Statement
I started rowing since July 2015 in FRBC rowing club, next to the River Thames at Hammersmith, London. Rowing was not offered in London outside of school until the age of 13. I was already fascinated by the sport, however, I had to wait. Nonetheless, I kept myself busy with other water sports such as sailing and swimming. From a young age I have always been competitive, this led me to join the swimming team and competed at county time level from the age of 9. Swimming competitions have given me an insight into how to deal with performance pressure, discomfort in training, rules in competition and I have earned 30 medals over 2 years.
When I first started rowing, I knew this was the sport for me. I quickly excelled past all the fellow beginners of my age group and even those a few years older, so my coach put me in a crew of J16s despite my age of 14. I get along with everybody at the boathouse, I love to make new friends and always supportive. From that point I have been steadily progressing in this superb sport. I train four times a week at the boat house and do my plyometrics and core exercises 4 times a week at home. These figures will progressively increase upon the upcoming months.
I am 100% committed to rowing in addition to achieve the best exam results in my studies and I will push myself to every possible limit. I am no quitter; even if I'm last in a race, I will still strive for the best personal time I can possibly get. Coming last in a race is not the full meaning of losing for me. Only I know whether I have rowed myself to the limit, if I have trained hard enough. Nevertheless, winning a medal is a great feeling.
Academics are just as important to me as any sport. I am not only working to my full potential in rowing but also in various subjects. I am top set in every subject and top 3 in most. I hope to achieve just as much in rowing as in academics in the future. GCSEs are coming up in 2 years and I am continuously striving for the best score possible.
My recent target grades were 9s and 8s (equivalent of an A** and A*)which i am very happy about.
In the future, I am aiming to row in a university that is competitive in this sport and that has high academic standards.
