Scott's world title aim after testing personal period

Olympic champion Hannah Scott says she will arrive at the World Rowing Championships in Amsterdam on the back of her "most successful winter of training so far".

The Coleraine sculler says her experience to date in the sport is becoming "more and more useful, which is even showing across the team".

Scott won Olympic gold in Paris two years ago but her story has been a rollercoaster ride of injury and illness as well as success and joy.

On the water, life is good, and the public will get to see that this week as Scott and her team-mates compete in the Netherlands.

But, away from competition, elite athletes like Scott face the same challenges as anyone else and she has opened up about some of the issues she has had to navigate.

"In my personal life, I've had my hiccups and ups and downs. My life was turned upside down at Christmas time, when I went through a serious breakup and I've had to manage that," said Scott.

"But in terms of my life in the boat and training, I've managed to keep that all going this year and it shows in terms of my performances.

"That was the one thing I was really stubborn about. I wasn't going to let anything happening in my personal life impact my rowing and my career which I've put so much work towards."

Compartmentalising life and not bringing personal problems to training that could affect performance and other athletes around them is part and parcel of life as an athlete.

It is something Scott has learned to do, especially during that difficult spell last year which coincided with an important period of training.

"When I talk about what happened at Christmas time, it all happened during a really testing period in rowing. We were going through a lot of trials which ended up dictating a bit of our selection for the year," she added.

"I actually didn't share a lot of what was going on at Christmas time, because I knew everyone in the boat would probably then be worried about what was happening.

"You tell your friends, you get the support where you need it, but in terms of when you're in training, and for me, working in such a high-pressure environment, that type of thing can actually distract quite a lot.

"It's easier to try and find your support systems where you can with your family and your friends, and then keep your performance separate, because when you bring too much emotion into it, even happy emotion, I do think it can sometimes distract you from what you're trying to do.

"It's a skill I've had to learn a lot more in elite sport, and something that's not easy, because we're all human, and it sounds like, 'Oh, I'm a robot because I can do that,' but I struggle with it and it's actually something you have to train your mind to do. It's the way you manage this job and it's how you get through at points."

Scott is now setting her sights on winning a second world title in the women's quad sculls alongside fellow Northern Ireland rower Finnola Stratton as well as Imogen Grant and Lola Anderson.

In Amsterdam they will face world champions the Netherlands on home water, but Switzerland and Germany will also provide stiff opposition.

There is also a new quad from Ireland that includes 19-year-old Sophia Young from Belfast, who recently took silver in the single sculls at the world under-23 championships.

"The event itself is starting to stack up, and that's where I'm excited to see where we land on it, because, with everyone else that's improving, I think we've seen a massive breakthrough, is how I would describe it, in the past five weeks and what we've done in our crew," added Scott.

"I want to see where that lands and how that lands and hopefully we can display that in what's going to be an amazing event at this World Championships."