In a thrilling display of skill, power, and determination, Finnola Stratton has etched her name in rowing history. On August 22nd, at the Under 23 World Rowing Championships in St. Catherine’s, Canada, Finn (bow seat in the boat and on the left in the medal photo) clinched a bronze medal as part of the women’s quad, alongside teammates Meg Knight, Lily Abbott, and Ellie Cooke. This phenomenal achievement marks a milestone in Finn’s rowing journey – a journey that began right here at Avon County Rowing Club in Saltford.

Finn’s story is one of local roots and global ambitions. From her first strokes on the Avon to World Championship glory, her path exemplifies the potential within our community and the heights that dedication can reach. Let’s take a look back at the remarkable journey of this Wellsway School alumna, from her early days of Friday afternoon sculling sessions to her recent international triumph.

Finn started sculling with coaches Penny Senior and Chris Hopper on Friday afternoons at Avon County Rowing Club in Saltford when she was 12. Finn was clearly very powerful then although not yet very technical – she crashed into a moored narrow boat on her first trip!

Finn was exceptional on the rowing machine setting a new World Record for the 100m sprint for 12 years old girls the night before her 13^th birthday.  She enjoyed training and racing, and raced with the club at all the local events.  She trialled to get into the U19 GB team but this coincided with the Covid-19 Pandemic so she didn’t get the opportunity to compete for GB until she went to Reading University.  Last year she competed at the European U23 Championships in Krefeld, Germany where she came 5^th in the single scull event.

We caught up with Finn after the crew’s amazing race at St Catherine’s.

• When and why did you get into rowing?

I started rowing nearly 9 years ago now, when I was 12. I come from a very sporty family, but never really got on very well with running or ball sports like my siblings did so I’d assumed I wasn’t athletically inclined. My dad suggested I needed something different, and being a similar physical build to himself recommended that I tried rowing because it was something he excelled at in school. I joined a taster session at Avon County Rowing Club as soon as I was old enough – made some great friends, and the rest is history!

• What has your journey been like to get to the World Champs?

I don’t think it’s ever smooth sailing when it comes to performance sport, but there have been some tough times! If you told me 4 years ago that I’d be medalling at the U23 World Championships, I would not have believed you. At that time I was really struggling with my relationship with rowing, mostly due to COVID, and actually ended up quitting for 6 months. I never thought I’d be able to sit in a boat again. I learned to love it over time though once I joined Reading University and started to really push for more and develop a drive I didn’t even know existed and had never understood before.

I’d say this year was the most challenging yet, I was starting to get really fast and I was so excited. My season was going well until I got two rib fractures from repetitive strain at the beginning of April. I was absolutely devastated- ribs are one of the most common injuries in female rowers, and are well known as a season ender- they can take 3 months to heal properly. I took some time off, then sat on a watt bike for what felt like eternity! I was absolutely determined to do what I had set out to do this season- make it to the World Championships. A week before Henley women’s regatta at the end of June I made it back in the boat, and managed to have some of the season that I thought I would entirely miss. I owe a lot of my success to my GB coach Chris Bartley, and it’s through working with him that I was able to excel at final selection for GB, and ultimately be given a seat in the U23 women’s quad.

• How do you stay motivated to train?

I love the training! But I also absolutely love the people I’m surrounded by and the experiences I get from it; I love learning about boats, and what makes them go fast, watching myself improve every week, the feeling of going to bed every night knowing I’ve had a good day of training and will wake up faster tomorrow. Most of the time it feels like I don’t need to ’stay motivated’ because there’s no reason I have to not be! If you took away the bits around it that I loved, I probably wouldn’t put myself through 30km of rowing each day- that would be insane! I’ve just built my life around the sport- it’s harder for me to miss a session than it is to go to one.

• What is it like training and racing in this crew?

Incredible. It’s awesome to be in a team where everyone is desperate for the same thing, even if it can be tricky at times when you all have different ideas about what is going to make the boat go the fastest. We all had a different role to play but once we figured that out we were unstoppable! Our final was actually on the 6 week ‘anniversary’ of our first time as a crew, so everyone was quite emotional. We all shed a lot of tears at the end of that race, not just for ourselves but also each other I think; everyone has their own story to tell about the reason they’re here. I’ve made some lifelong friends for sure.

• What was the experience and the atmosphere of the World Champs like?

We were there for 2 weeks and it was an incredibly well organised event with over 750 volunteers from St. Catharines. All the rowers and teams stayed at Brock University which was set up similarly to how I imagine the Olympic village – every country sat in their own groups for mealtimes, and while we lived, trained and ate amongst one another, it wasn’t until after racing that we felt comfortable enough to communicate and do some kit swapping.

Generally it was very professional, there are rules about what kit you have to wear and when, or what stickers you need to have on your boat. You must have things like an ID on you at all times on race day in case you need to be randomly drugs tested. This might have been intimidating for some people, but I felt as if all of the systems put in place were a reflection of respect for how hard all the athletes had worked. My favourite part of the event was the grandstand and the medal ceremony, which was like nothing I have ever experienced before. Most people think that rowing isn’t exactly a spectator sport- you certainly don’t do it for the glory- but standing on the podium absorbing the shouts from the crowd while watching the GB flag be raised will forever be one of my best memories.

• At what point did you believe you were going to win the bronze medal?

Not until we crossed the line! On the first day we got in the boat in July, we knew it was possible to get a medal because of how fast it felt, but you just never know who is going to turn up. As it stands, both the Romanians and the Polish beat the previous U23 world best time- and we were only 1 second off it. The standard of rowing was just absolutely phenomenal, and I am so proud to have competed in such a high calibre event. Making one small mistake can cost you a medal, so hanging onto that third place was all we thought about even up until the last 20 strokes.

• What next?

For now I get two weeks off to see my family, relax and recuperate. I am women’s captain at Reading University so I’m looking forward to diving back into that for pre-season which starts for everyone else next week. Basically it’s back to the grind of real life- and I couldn’t be happier. I have all the resources I need at Uni to get stronger, and with everything I have learned this year, as well as a great boat club around me, I think I have a pretty good shot at some more successes. Ultimately who knows where rowing will take me; I’d love a career in it someday, but right now I’m focusing on taking each week at a time.

Here at Avon County Rowing Club we could not be more proud of our girl Finn, she really is an amazing talent and an inspiration to other rowers at our Club, young and old! If you are interested in rowing and would like to know more about us, or have rowed previously and are thinking of returning to the sport, please email captain@avoncountyrowingclub.org.uk

Photo credits to Benedict Tufnell, British Rowing