Succeeding as an elite athlete requires a level of dedication that most mere mortals can’t even imagine.
For rower Rowan McKellar from Glasgow, this meant her wedding day didn’t start with a hair and make-up session and a meeting with the photographer, but with intensive training on the water.
That may seem like an exaggeration, but in a sport where the smallest of margins can be the difference between Olympic glory and missing out on the podium altogether, every session counts.
McKellar, 29, who married Matt Cummings in January, is aiming to compete in her second Olympic Games in Paris this summer, meaning a honeymoon in the Alps will have to wait a little longer.
She said: “We’ve been trying to figure out when on earth we would get to it. We decided to just do it. We had a very small ceremony with my family and my husband’s family. It was a really fun day, I’m really glad we just went for it. The small wedding was a lot of fun and it was exactly what we imagined.
“The honeymoon will be after the Olympics. In September we are going hiking in the Alps. We had Sunday off, which was very nice. I didn’t want to take time off either.
“I rowed in the morning and went out to get married in the afternoon. We surprised both our families that day. It was very accessible and a lot of fun. The training wasn’t that hard, but it was one where I had to stick to the schedule, I had a place to be!”
Since that wedding in January, McKellar has been training hard with the first World Cup event of the season just a month away.
That regatta in Varese will be significant when it comes to GB’s selection for the Olympics, with the composition of boats likely to be similar, if not identical, to those on the starting line in Paris.
With experience at major events in the pairs, fours and eights, McKellar is a credible option in all three boats, but that doesn’t take away the tension surrounding that first selection decision.
“There are always moving parts at the moment,” added McKellar, who is one of more than 1,000 elite athletes taking part in UK Sport’s National Lottery-funded World Class Programme, which allows her to train full-time, access ‘ the world’s best coaches and can benefit from groundbreaking medical care.
We all have to wait and see. It’s exciting because we managed to qualify the pair, the four and the eight. So it would be great to be able to race in anything and I think there is a very good chance of medals in more than just one boat.
“There are little nuances between the boats that you have to turn up or down depending on which boat you’re in. The main difference is the dynamics of the boat rather than the actual physical rowing. A couple, just the two of you, you live in each other’s pockets. You basically spend all your time together. With the four it is a little easier, there are still a few people, to determine who you train with day in and day out.
“In the eight it is a large group and you have Henry (Fieldman) as helmsman, who brings a completely different dynamic. There is someone in the boat who has more authority and who is there to make you all better. It’s a really cool thing.
“Racing the pair is definitely the scariest, most people would say that. But the eight and the four are both nice.”
McKellar has spent most of his time in the fours, including in Tokyo four years ago where the team had to settle for fourth place while GB’s rowers struggled across the board.
That has changed in the three years since, with a world fours title in 2022 followed by bronze last year, in addition to a gold and two silver medals at European level.
It is a sign of the turnaround in fortunes that Britain has won eight gold medals in Olympic events at the past two world championships, while winning none in the three editions between Rio and Tokyo.
That means McKellar’s second Olympic experience should be very different from her first, even if the final selection won’t be confirmed until early June.
Acknowledging how much has changed in terms of team dynamics, she added: “Tokyo has been great but the Covid situation hasn’t really affected it, but it was always in the back of your mind. It was a crazy time when I think back. Everything you’ve trained for could be over with one spit test tomorrow morning. It was crazy how quickly everything could change and it did for some people. I feel for them because that’s a terrible way to end your Olympics if that were to happen.
“It’s funny because if we had gotten a medal it would have been absolutely amazing, but I don’t think we won a medal at the World Championships for the entire Olympic cycle. A medal would have been absolutely incredible, but we finished about where we did in the World Championships.
“I’m glad we finished fourth and not fifth. I’m glad we made it to the final, so there were a lot of positives. We performed very well throughout the regatta. It’s put me in a better place for these Games after doing one, but it’s still a bit disappointing.
“Overall, I think we did as well as we could have done. We executed what we had to offer. I hope that in Paris, if we can do that, we have more to offer. If we can do that, I hope we can get on the podium.”
When McKellar takes the stage, one of those leading the festivities at home will be her grandmother Betty, a legend in Lochwinnoch who collects newspaper clippings of every interview or report about her granddaughter.
Three years ago that meant a new TV, while this year McKellar will focus on ensuring her exploits make it to terrestrial TV.
McKellar explained: ‘I always ask Shelley (British Rowing’s press officer) for interviews I’ve done because I always have to make sure Grandma gets them. I want her to get the right newspaper.
“Both my grandmothers are very helpful and these kinds of things are a lot of fun. It’s nice to read something about me in the newspaper. For the last Olympics, she managed to get a new TV for the Games. It was something big and I’m very happy with the support I received.
‘I don’t think she’ll make it to Paris. Some of the racing wasn’t on the BBC last time, so this year I have to make sure she can get it on TV. She won’t make it, but she will watch. Family support makes a huge difference; it’s just great that they can be there, no matter who comes.”
The Covid-19 pandemic meant that even McKellar’s loved ones were unable to attend her Olympic debut in person in Tokyo.
But that will certainly not be the case in Paris, where most of the clan will move.
She added: “Hopefully it will be a different experience with fans and I’m really excited that my family can be there. I’m glad it’s so close.
“It was really cool that Tokyo was a big trip and went to a completely new place. It would have been even cooler if the Covid situation hadn’t happened. But it is very nice that this one is close by, more uncles and aunts can come and I think it will be exciting.
“My parents are go-getters. They are there for every race. My mom missed one race, and it was actually the first medal me and Hattie Taylor got in the pairs. She now insists she won’t miss another one.
“My parents are real rowing enthusiasts. It’s great to know they will be there and usually they know when my races are ahead of me. I ask them about the dates of the World Cup and they are all working on it. It’s great that they’re coming out.”
After being on hand to see McKellar tie the knot at the start of the year, her parents now have the chance to watch their daughter potentially claim a first Olympic medal this summer. It looks like 2024 could be very special in several ways.
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