Inverness-based rower Heather Gordon was recently crowned world champion at this year’s World Rowing Beach Sprint Championships in her debut competition for Great Britain.
The 23-year-old claimed victory in the mixed quad race alongside teammates Rosa Thomson, Charles Cousins, Cameron Buchan and Ryan Glymond at the annual championships held in Genoa, Italy last month.
Now, back home in Inverness, we sat down with Heather to chat through the whirlwind that has been her life for the last few months and her sporting journey up until now.
Rediscovering her sport
Heather initially went along to the championship trials with very little expectation, expressing that because she had only been competing in beach sprints for a very short time, she was simply there to gain more experience in the discipline.
Though Heather had been flat water rowing at Inverness Rowing Club from age 13 until she left school at 18, she only took up beach sprints 16 months ago.
“I rowed for Scotland as a junior, was captain of the women’s junior team and claimed a couple of golds at home international events,” Heather explained.
“When I finished school, I went travelling so rowing got put to the side and when I got back, we were in the midst of covid, so I ended up being out for longer than I’d expected,” she continued.
Fast forward to spring 2023, Heather heard about a beach sprints taster session being run by Scottish Rowing down in St Andrews where her sister was studying at university.
“I thought it sounded really fun so took the trip down to see my sister and try it out for the first time.”
The start of something big
Quickly taking to the new discipline, Heather sought out further opportunities to train and compete in beach sprints over the next few months, eventually being invited along to a Scottish Rowing training camp and asked to be part of their performance group.
“At that training camp in September, I’d only really been doing beach sprints for around 3 months, so I was really chuffed to be invited onto the programme.”
As part of Scottish Rowing’s performance group, Heather receives support from the sportscotland Institute of Sport and has recently started receiving funding through the Athlete Travel Award Scheme (ATAS).
“The support I get is just incredible and I’m so lucky to have so many people helping me along on this journey,” she expressed.
“I’m super grateful to have been accepted onto this round of ATAS which is going to be a huge help in covering some of my travel expenses.”
On the road
For Heather, beach sprint training is a huge commitment and requires hours upon hours of driving up and down the country.
Outside of rowing, Heather is a personal trainer and coaches at Inverness Rowing Club.
“I usually train twice a day between taking clients and delivering sessions at the rowing club.
“A lot of weeks I’ll set off for training down south on a Friday afternoon and then be back up Sunday night ready for the week ahead.”
Because of the amount and size of equipment she has to carry around, Heather has to drive to each training destination, occasionally having to make the 20-hour round trip down to Henley in London and back in just one weekend.
“In the 6 weeks leading up to worlds, I spent more than half of my time away from home whether that was training or driving,” she told us.
A second family
So, what makes it all worth it? We asked Heather why she loves the sport so much and what motivates her to keep making those long journeys.
“I think because rowing is a relatively small sport in Scotland and beach sprints even more so, you build really tight relationships with others in the sport.
“Although we’re often competing against each other, we are also each other’s biggest supporters.
“I think as well, doing a sport that is quite different is really cool. As an adult, I’m still learning so much about the sport and constantly developing.”
LA on the horizon
Fresh off the back of executing her first international competition and first for Team GB in the best style possible, Heather is now looking ahead to LA 2028.
“The next Olympics is obviously another huge motivator for me,” she expressed.
“With beach sprints being included for the first time ever, it’s such an exciting time to be in the sport and it’s definitely my biggest goal going forward now.
Expressing her gratitude to all those who have helped her get to this stage in her sporting career, Heather said:
“Considering that at the beginning of last year I had never even tried beach sprints, it’s crazy that the Olympics is now potentially on the cards for me.
“The support on my journey from Scottish Rowing, sportscotland and my friends and family too has just been amazing.
“It’s very easy to just look at me as the individual but I couldn’t do what I do without everyone around me and the sacrifices that other people have made to get me to where I am.”
More info
- Watch: 2024 World Rowing Beach Sprints Finals - Coastal Mixed Coxed Quadruple Sculls
- The sportscotland Athlete Travel Award Scheme supports travel costs for Highland and island competitors to help talented athletes from the Outer Hebrides, Orkney, Shetland and Highland to gain better access to competitive and developmental opportunities available on the mainland. Successful applicants benefit from up to £1,500 to support travel and accommodation costs in attending training and competitions.
- sportscotland institute of sport
- Scottish Rowing
