Joanna Rowsell selected to represent Team GB at the Rio 2016 Olympics

Olympic Gold Medallist and frequent Club La Santa visitor,  has been selected to represent Team GB at the Rio 2016 Olympics. She gives us the low down on her training and setback due to illness during the lead up to the selection day.

Less than 50 days until the Olympics 2016

I am pleased to announce that I have been selected to represent Team GB at the Rio 2016 Olympics! I am incredibly proud to be selected for my second Olympic Games and I am looking forward to the different challenges we will face in Rio compared to the home games of London 2012, but selection is only the start. As a team we are all 100% focussed on winning gold in Rio and we know we face some stiff competition. So whilst being selected for Team GB is an incredibly proud moment, it is only a stepping stone on the way to our ultimate goal. I will be part of a team of five girls travelling to Rio to make up the Women’s Track Endurance team.

For me personally the last couple of months have been tougher than I would have liked. Training was going well and I was pleased to be setting personal bests over a number of distances but then at the end of May I came down with a bad illness which resulted in me spending two nights in hospital. The doctors said I had a viral infection which took a while to fully recover from, but I am pleased to say I am now back to full health and training hard again.

It is frustrating to have setbacks like this but it is reassuring to know that beforehand I was in great form. As an athlete staying healthy and injury free is just as important as training hard as we try to minimize any loss of training days. However the most frustrating thing with illness is that it is out of my control. Whilst I do everything I can to minimize risks, sometimes you just get unlucky. And then when you are ill there is very little you can do to speed up the recovery process. You just have to let your body take it’s time. It’s also not as simple as feeling better and then just cracking on as normal. You need to build up gradually, let your body adapt to the increase in load and monitor everyday how it’s responding.

I’ve managed to stay positive throughout this time and just see it as an additional challenge. Competing at the Olympics is never going to be easy and we push our bodies to the limit day in day out. Perhaps my body was craving a bit of rest and this could do me good long term? Either way I am focussing on making every day count.

We are now less than 50  days to go until our Olympic final so there is still a lot of work to do before the taper begins as we make the journey to Brazil.

All the team at Sports Tours International & Club La Santa would like to wish Joanna the very best of luck in Rio!

Olympic Gold Medallist and frequent Club La Santa visitor,  has been selected to represent Team GB at the Rio 2016 Olympics. She gives us the low down on her training and setback due to illness during the lead up to the selection day.

Less than 50 days until the Olympics 2016

I am pleased to announce that I have been selected to represent Team GB at the Rio 2016 Olympics! I am incredibly proud to be selected for my second Olympic Games and I am looking forward to the different challenges we will face in Rio compared to the home games of London 2012, but selection is only the start. As a team we are all 100% focussed on winning gold in Rio and we know we face some stiff competition. So whilst being selected for Team GB is an incredibly proud moment, it is only a stepping stone on the way to our ultimate goal. I will be part of a team of five girls travelling to Rio to make up the Women’s Track Endurance team.

For me personally the last couple of months have been tougher than I would have liked. Training was going well and I was pleased to be setting personal bests over a number of distances but then at the end of May I came down with a bad illness which resulted in me spending two nights in hospital. The doctors said I had a viral infection which took a while to fully recover from, but I am pleased to say I am now back to full health and training hard again.

It is frustrating to have setbacks like this but it is reassuring to know that beforehand I was in great form. As an athlete staying healthy and injury free is just as important as training hard as we try to minimize any loss of training days. However the most frustrating thing with illness is that it is out of my control. Whilst I do everything I can to minimize risks, sometimes you just get unlucky. And then when you are ill there is very little you can do to speed up the recovery process. You just have to let your body take it’s time. It’s also not as simple as feeling better and then just cracking on as normal. You need to build up gradually, let your body adapt to the increase in load and monitor everyday how it’s responding.

I’ve managed to stay positive throughout this time and just see it as an additional challenge. Competing at the Olympics is never going to be easy and we push our bodies to the limit day in day out. Perhaps my body was craving a bit of rest and this could do me good long term? Either way I am focussing on making every day count.

We are now less than 50  days to go until our Olympic final so there is still a lot of work to do before the taper begins as we make the journey to Brazil.

All the team at Sports Tours International & Club La Santa would like to wish Joanna the very best of luck in Rio!