Jess was invited to two GB training camps over the Christmas vacation period.
Elkington trials with Team GB
European Universities gold medallist Jessica Elkington (2nd year History), has moved closer to her goal of rowing for Britain following her attendance at two Team GB training camps over the Christmas holiday.
The U23 lightweight rower was initially selected for an “invite only” camp following an exceptional performance at the first stage of GB rowing trials in November 2013.
Jess caught the selector’s eye after gaining the fastest machine time for an U23 Lightweight Woman, powering her way to 2000m in an astonishing 7:11 minutes.
Travelling to Cavisham for the camp on 21-22 December, Jess lined up alongside a field of Junior International level rowers where different squads and combinations were tried out.
She commented: “The initial camp was U23 and development rowers, to assess how people worked in crews.
“I was there with a good number of rowers who had won medals at the U23 and Junior World Championships in the summer so it was a good challenge to be getting into boats with new people and making them work.”
Following another strong showing, Jessica received a further invite to Cardiff for fitness testing in January. A much more intimate affair, she formed one of just three lightweight women selected from across the country.
She added: “The second training camp was different to the first, completely fitness and land-training focussed. Four sessions a day in the gym made it pretty tough, but worth it for the experienced I gained.”
A seasoned rower for the University, Jessica struck gold on no less than four occasions in 2013 during a whirlwind season with the women’s lightweight fours.
Wins at the BUCS Head and BUCS Regatta early in the season made way for a historic victory at the European Universities Championship in Poznan, Poland, in the summer.
Looking forward to 2014, Jess’s next step will see her join nine other University of Exeter Rowing Club hopefuls who all reached the second stage of Team GB trials taking place on Saturday 15 February.
She added: “I am really pleased with how the trials are going so far, and going on camp has only inspired me to train harder and put in a strong performance at the next round in February - basically doing all I can to be selected for the U23 worlds this summer”.
Date: 14 January 2014
