We ask four of our favourite sportswomen the same five questions. See what Jenna Randall, Catriona Morrison, Catriona Matthew and Alex Danson all have to say.
Jenna Randall – Synchro Swimmer
1. How did you first get started in your sport?
When I was very young I loved swimming and loved going underwater so I joined synchro when I was seven. My older sister also did it so I thought it was cool as she loved it!
2. Can you recall your best and favourite win?
My best win was when I was 15 years old and became the youngest British Champion in synchronised swimming.
3. Tell us about your training routine.
We train around 45 hours a week and we don’t taper this for competitions like other sports. We will do around six to eight hours in the pool everyday as well as doing two hour weight sessions on Tuesday and Thursday. We also do four hours in the gym on Saturday. Then we also do flexibility work and extra cardio sets in our own time during the week.
4. How tough on your body is your sport?
We need to train so much just to make the smallest thing look easy, so you need to be very fit! Our sport needs power, strength, flexibility, and grace. We need the same strength as a body builder but the flexibility of a gymnast so lots of skills are needed to be at the top level of synchro.
5. Do you believe you need mental strength to be a champion?
Definitely. To be a champion you need to be able to push your body to the extreme everyday otherwise it’s not worth the training. To push yourself in training everyday takes immense mental strength!
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Catriona Morrison – Duathlon
1. How did you first get started in your sport?
I took up cycling at university to rest a leg injury, then ended up joining the triathlon club which had quite a good following. The transition from triathlon to duathlon was quite straight forward.
2. Can you recall your best and favourite win?
My first sporting success was when I was six - I won the obstacle race at the Sleat Games on the Isle Of Skye. I still remember it now!
3. Tell us about your training routine.
At the moment I am training up to three times a day, running, cycling and swimming. It’s a pretty tough regime, but then the event is pretty tough. I think it is harder than triathlon because you have to run twice.
4. How tough on your body is your sport?
A competition can last anything up to 4.5 hours, depending on the course, so it is pretty gruelling. The cross training aspect of training for two events at the same time is also pretty tough, generally legs don’t like to run after they have been cycling. I actually like to run after I’ve been on the bike. For me I think, for whatever reason, my body tends to warm up quite nicely on the bike. One of the best aspects of duathlon is that it can be done year-round. Since there’s no swim portion like in triathlon, the winter weather doesn’t stand in the way of competitions - but that does mean it’s hard sometimes to fit in a rest period.
5. Do you believe you need mental strength to be a champion?
Yes definitely, you need to be mentally tough not just for the actual race day but also to cope with the constant training. I am naturally competitive though and this is my life so I can’t imagine doing anything else.
Catriona Morrison will be competing at the 2010 GE Edinburgh ITU Duathlon World Championships. For more information visit www.edinburghduathlon2010.com
Catriona Matthew – Golf
1. How did you first get started in your sport?
I first started playing when I was about 5 or 6. My parents played and I would tag along with them and my two older brothers and probably at that point just annoyed everyone!
2. Can you recall your best and favourite win?
Definitely winning the Ricoh British Open. Obviously being British it meant so much to me to win on home soil. It was a great moment.
3. Tell us about your training routine.
During the on-season it’s pretty non-stop. Mondays are usually spent travelling, then Tuesdays and
Wednesdays there will be the practice rounds. Tournaments start on Thursdays and go through the weekend. When I’m at home I have a young family so I have to fit my training in around them. I usually will practice for 3-4 hours then spend an hour in the gym.
4. How tough on your body is your sport?
You need to be in good shape. It’s not as demanding as say being an athlete, but you definitely need to stay fit and healthy. I think especially in the last ten years there’s been more emphasis on staying physically fit and you see pretty much all of the women heading to the gym to stay in shape.
5. Do you believe you need mental strength to be a champion?
Most definitely. I think it’s the same in any sport. There will always be lots of good players out there who are physically quite similar, but to be a champion you need to have the mental strength to get to the top.
For further information on the Ricoh Women’s British Open please visit www.ricohwomensbritishopen.com
Image credit: Ricoh Women’s British Open/Getty Images
Alex Danson – Hockey
1. How did you first get started in your sport?
My mum used to play and I begged her for a hockey stick for my birthday. At school it was just a boys after-school activity. But I went and joined them and it was me and all the boys playing.
2. Can you recall your best and favourite win?
At the Commonwealth Games in Melbourne in 2006, we were in the bronze medal play off match against New Zealand. It got to extra time and it was 2-2. I don’t think I have ever really experienced anything like the nerves and that kind of desperation to win a medal. I thought if we lose this it is going to change my whole perception of this tournament and we will come away miserable, but if we win this, and come away with a medal, then everything will change from there on. And we won the bronze and it was an amazing, brilliant feeling.
3. Tell us about your training routine.
We train two to three sessions per day from Monday to Wednesday and then once on Thursday and Friday. During the season we have a match on Saturday and a rest day on Sunday. Out of season we have a horrible running session on Saturdays! Each session lasts for two hours.
4. How tough on your body is your sport?
I think it is one of the toughest, most physical sports around. Not only is it very intense cardio work, but you also have to get yourself into such low positions at speed. You need a good endurance base and you have to be quick and athletic.
5. Do you believe you need mental strength to be a champion?
I think the strength in your mind is almost more powerful. You just have to have a belief in what you do. You have to have a desire to be the best at what you do too. If you don’t set yourself goals and dreams, in all aspects of your life, then it’s really hard to achieve things.
Alex is taking part in the Boutique Run.The first-ever Boutique Run takes place in London’s
Battersea Park on Saturday 10 July. The women’s only 5k or 10k run is followed by a fabulously
luxurious after-party. For tickets visit www.boutiquerun.com.
Image credit: Ady Keey/EHB
Louise Hudson, Sportsister
The Women’s Sports Magazine
