Hard Training, Good
Diet Lead to Gray’s
Rowing Success
By Scott Taylor and Andrea Katz, Photos courtesy of FIT Communications
With only six months of rowing
under her belt, Emma Gray of the
Manitoba Rowing Association has
been identified by Rowing Canada as
an athlete with the highest level of
potential and ability to make it to the
future Olympic podium for Canada.
Gray was identified by Manitoba
Rowing Association Head Coach
Antony Patterson in the Spring of 2015
while conducting potential athlete
testing during the Row To Podium
Testing program at Gray’s high school,
University of Winnipeg Collegiate.
After achieving the best results in
the entire country throughout the
tests, Gray was invited to meet with
Coach Patterson, Rowing Canada,
and Olympians Jeff Powell and Janine
Hanson to find out what the Row to
Podium program was all about.
Emma, just 16, has competed on the
national stage in various sports.
“I played club football when I was
quite young,” she said. “I competed
at the national level and have a black
belt in Taekwondo. Then I played
basketball at the high performance
provincial level and competed at
U-15 nationals. Most recently, before
rowing, I trained and competed in
Olympic weightlifting, going to two
Junior national championships.”
Emma has her sights set on the
Junior World Championships in 2016,
the Under-23 World Championships
in 2017 and, of course, a future on an
Olympic podium.
Coach Patterson believes Gray
has the drive, talent and tenacity to
accomplish everything she is working
to achieve – and even more.
“There are so many things I love
about rowing,” she said. “The amount
of hours and work it requires to be
successful, the sense of overwhelming
satisfaction when you finish a hard
piece, race or workout and to know
you couldn’t have taken another hard
stroke, or pushed yourself any further.
“The sport of rowing is truly
addictive. It requires so much focus
and energy that it has the power to
make everything else in the world
disappear.”
In Emma’s short time as a rower, she
has accomplished some
Pretty exceptional feats, both for
herself and the provincial rowing
program. In August of this year she
won gold in the Western Canada
Summer Games Women’s Singles
even, a first for Manitoba. She also
placed third in the doubles along with
teammate Anne-Marie Goytan.
Interestingly, a decision in the
spring of 2013 to go vegan has
contributed to her success.
“I did so for ethical and
environmental reasons initially
but upon researching the lifestyle
further, found the overwhelming
evidence of both health and athletic
benefits,” she said. “I have no secrets
so to speak. I eat a whole foods plant
based diet with very few processed
foods. This has resulted in a very
nutrient dense diet that is extremely
alkalizing. When you train, your
body goes into an acidic state and
cannot begin to recover until its pH
balance is restored. Meat and dairy
are acid forming while all plant
foods, especially nutrient dense
whole plants, are basic and restore
your body’s natural pH quickly, thus
promoting rapid recovery.
“The faster and more effectively
you recover, the more frequently
and intense you can train. The more
quality training volume an athlete can
accumulate, the better and quicker
they’ll improve. The only key to being
successful on a plant-based diet is to
eat enough. Since plants are naturally
higher in water content and lower in
caloric density one simply needs to
be aware that they will have to eat a
greater volume of food to get the same
number of calories. This isn’t really
a problem though because caloric
density can be manipulated through
food choice to satisfy your appetite in
relation to your energy expenditure.”
Gray’s third place finish at the
National Rowing Championships in
the junior category and gold in the
Women’s Singles at the North West
International Rowing Association
Championships, clearly demonstrates
that Emma Gray has quickly
developed into one of the finest young
athletes in the country. l
sportslife / 15