Alexandria's Fiona makes her way to Beijing olympics

Aug 15 2008 by Laura McLachlan, Lennox Herald (main ed)

FROM the Bonnie Banks to Beijing – that’s the journey one Alexandria athlete will make when she jumps aboard her canoe at the Olympics today (Wednesday).

Fiona Pennie is one of 31 Scots in Team GB for the 2008 Olympics – 25 years after her first outing in a canoe on Loch Lomond.

Fiona, whose parents met and taught at Lomond School, said: “Mum used to be an international level flatwater paddler, and used to train on Loch Lomond.

“She had me in a boat at a few months old on the loch! I vaguely remember walking along the side of the loch at Luss and throwing stones into the water.”

Since then, the 25-year-old has become one of Britain’s top medal hopes for the games in China and, hotly tipped by rowing legend Sir Steve Redgrave, will begin competition today, hoping to better her biggest achievement to date.

“The World Championships in Prague in 2006 has been my best result yet when I won the silver medal.

“Last year in 2007, I, together with my two team mates, won a bronze medal in both the European Championships and the World Championships.

“I also won a bronze medal in the first World Cup race last year, in Prague. But my eyes are set on the biggest race of the year – and indeed my life.”

But getting to Beijing was no mean feat for Fiona, and realising her dream meant months of gruelling, and at times freezing, training sessions.

“Over the winter, the goal of reaching the Olympics was what pushed me through the sub zero days on the water.

“Ten to 13 sessions a week consisting of whitewater technical sessions, flatwater endurance sessions, weights in the gym and more endurance sessions on the canoeing ergo was hard work – but what it takes to be at the top.”

In April, Fiona was set to compete in three Olympic qualification races – two in Holland and one in Nottingham, where she has lived and trained since her career began in earnest.

But world-class performances in Holland meant she didn’t need the advantage of canoeing in her home town.

“In the end, the selection races went quite easily for me and I beat my closest rival Laura by some seven seconds or so on each day in Holland, which, in our sport, is a huge margin.

“As the results of the best two races from the three are taken, this automatically selected me as the Olympic boat, and I didn't have to race in Nottingham.”

Now Fiona has the confidence in her own ability for her qualifying today and making the finals tomorrow, she is taking some motivation from her armchair – watching her GB team mates battle it out for Olympic glory.

“I'm confident that I will get through qualification, but anything can happen and it will be all about who can put down two solid runs on the day.

“The free time that I have up until my racing will be spent in the GB Athlete Lounge watching the BBC feed that we have of all the other Olympic events. It's really inspirational!”

The sport of canoe slalom consists of a course of between 18 and 25 gates. Six or seven are red gates, which should be negotiated in an upstream direction.

The others are green gates, and should be negotiated in a downstream direction. Touching a pole incurs a two-second penalty which is added on to your time, while failing to pass through a gate at all imposes a 50-second penalty.