I joined the AICS in Group 5 and left at the end of DP2.  I then went to the University of Iowa on a sports scholarship to study English literature and creative writing and row for the Hawkeye women's team.  I rowed for the varsity first eight and also competed as part of the Dutch under 23 team, winning a silver medal at the World Championships in 2018, and Bronze at the European championships in 2020.

I narrowly missed qualifying as a Dutch pair for the delayed Tokyo Olympics, after which I secured a job as a junior copywriter with an ad agency and worked flexibly around my busy training schedule.

In 2022 an injury caused me to lose my rowing funding and my place on the Dutch team.  I decided to use my second passport and jumped ship to the UK, working remotely for the ad agency.  I trialled for Team GB in January 2023 and secured a place on the squad with a monthly stipend of £1200 so I was able to train full time with an eye on getting a seat in a British Boat at the Paris games.

In 2023 I had a series of back injuries, followed by rehabilitation, solo training, and endless core-strengthening exercises.  I pressed on staying fit on a watt bike and hoping for a miracle.

In November, I won the pairs matrix and later finished second behind the reigning world champions.  In January I was given a place.  It was initially very tough to be accepted into the boat by the other women.  I may have secured a place but I now had to prove my worth to everyone else in the boat.

The 2024 season proved to be the most exciting and rewarding of my life. We had three major international regattas in the build up to Paris: the World Cup 1 in Italy, the European Championships in Hungary, and the World Cup 2 in Switzerland, taking three silver medals.

Finally came the Olympics.  We won our heat by a big margin and ultimately took bronze in the final.  Competing in the Olympics realised an ambition I had carried since Group 5 at the AICS and the experience of the Games themselves was everything and more than I had ever dreamed of.

Now, alongside my training, I have started doing some after-dinner speaking and some motivational team-building with companies, as well as continuing to help with Outreach, a charity dedicated to getting kids from financially-challenged backgrounds into sports.

My words of wisdom to current AICS-ers would be…  Never be afraid to set yourself a goal and then go for it. More importantly, keep going for it, even if the only thing you can achieve towards that goal on a given day is getting an early night or packing a bag. Success comes from continuing to make small choices that help, rather than hinder, your progress.