SPORT
Tees Life talks to
Teesside’s latest rowing
star Beth Bryan, winner
of bronze medals as
part of the quadruple
sculls team in both the
European and World
Championships in her
first season competing
at a senior level…
OAR-
SOME!
WORD S: DAVE ALLAN
TOP PIC TUR E: M ART I N WA L K E R
“Teesside will always
be home to me. With
the beach one way
and the countryside
the other, what’s not
to like? It’s one of the
greatest places on
earth!”
Tees Life: For those who aren’t rowing
aficionados, what can you tell us about the
quadruple sculls and the training you do?
Beth: There are quite a few boat classes within
rowing but sculling is with two oars, rather
than one, while there’s naturally four girls in
the boat for quadruple skills. This year I’ve
been sculling with Mathilda Hodgkins-Byrne,
Holly Nixon and Jess Leyden. Most of the year
we train and compete against each other to get
selection for the championships. We train two
or three sessions a day, six days a week pretty
much all year round. First session usually starts
at half-seven in the morning, involving 16 to 20
kilometres on the lake, then we’re back on the
water about 11am and then there’s a weights
session after lunch.
Tees Life: You’re based in Henley now but you
learned to row on the River Tees?
Beth: Yes, I got scouted when a GB coach came
to my school, Egglescliffe, and carried out a
series of power and endurance tests. Four of us
started training at the River Tees Water Sports
Centre. Among them was also Jo Wratten,
who has also gone on to compete for GB and
was part of the women’s eight at the World
Championships this year. We’re good friends
and live together in Henley, having moved there
this time last year. You have to be competitive in
sport but we really have each other’s backs.
Tees Life: You recently took bronze at the
World Rowing Championships in Florida,
having already won bronze in the European
Championships in the Czech Republic too.
How did that feel?
Beth: To achieve two really strong results in
our first senior year was really exciting. It’s
motivated me. We came third in the world! This
time last year I’d have said “No chance” but now
we’re hungry for more. We’re taking it step-
by-step but we’re already thinking about how
we’re going to get on the podium for the 2020
Olympics in Tokyo. But next year there’s three
World Cups and the European Championships
in Glasgow, so I need to do all I can to be in the
boat for those.
Tees Life: Of course, Teesside already has an
Olympic star in rowing, with Kat Copeland
having taken gold in 2012. How much of an
inspiration is Kat?
Beth: Kat’s one of our best friends. When she
won in London we were in bits, seeing someone
so close to us win gold at the Olympics. But
there’s also a feeling of “Well, if she can, we
can”. It’s my big ambition to go to the Olympics
wearing the GB kit. That’s my aim for 2020.
Tees Life: Do you still get back to Teesside?
Beth: Yes, whenever I have a holiday I head back
to my parents’ house in Hartburn. I do miss the
12-kilometre stretch of the River Tees where we
used to train. We’d row from the Water Sports
Centre next to the Infinity Bridge all the way
down to Yarm and back. As much as we get
taken the Micky out of for our accents, we are so
proud to represent Teesside. Teesside will always
be home to me. With the beach one way and the
countryside the other, what’s not to like? It’s one
of the greatest places on earth!
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