Monash University student Joshua Dunkley-Smith is set for the Olympics, after being named part of the Australian Rowing Team for the 2012 London Olympics.
The team was announced by the Rowing Australia board following the conclusion of the 2012 National Selection Trials at the Sydney International Regatta Centre in Penrith.
Josh, who is in the first year of his Monash University Bachelor of Arts (Journalism) degree at the Gippsland campus, has been selected to be part of the Men’s Coxless Four team. He is the only Monash University student in the squad of 56 athletes that was announced across 15 different boat classes (13 for the Olympics; two for the Paralympics).
Josh said that the tryouts had taken him one step closer to his dream of representing Australia.
“This experience was an exhausting but amazing one. The selections are notoriously hard to estimate and you never know what might happen,” Josh said. “Now that the teams have been announced, everyone is looking forward to testing their crews ahead of the international racing that starts in May.”
Josh and his 55 teammates train all year round. A typical training week includes a morning row six days-a-week, weights three afternoons a week and cross training, including road-cycling, ergo and stationary bike, seven days-a-week.
“That builds up to three sessions a day during the national season and once we go overseas we usually train four times a day,” Josh said. “With all the training and the travelling, the Monash Elite Athlete program has supported me greatly with getting leave from classes that clashed with my sporting commitments.”
Being selected as part of the Australian Rowing Team does not necessarily guarantee participation in the Olympics. The Australian team departs for Europe on 15 May to compete at World Cup 2 and World Cup 3 in Munich, Germany (in June) before the final team is nominated by the Australian Olympic Committee.
“The important part about selection for us is that we are aiming to win in London, so as an athlete you have to keep your aim on the real goal,” Josh said. “You can’t get complacent in thinking ‘I’ve got the ticket now so the tough part is done’. The real hard work starts after trials, and it’s 100 per cent on the gas now until the final.”
OzTREKK wishes Josh all the best in the coming months!
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