Invictus Rowing Steps Up Its Training

Martin Tye is a multi-talented Invictus athlete.

With three months to go until the Invictus Games commence in Sydney, training across the eleven sports is stepping up.

In Colchester, the 13 rowers selected to represent Team UK have been put through their paces by British Rowing.

Martin Tye powered to a rowing gold at the Toronto Games last September, which was one of six medals he won.

Tye said: “I didn’t have any expectations of getting picked. So obviously when I was picked I was over the moon. I just want to get out there and enjoy myself. I’ve been loving the whole experience again.

“It’s nice to be around the guys and have that bonding. Invictus is amazing. You will not find this experience anywhere else in the world, in any other sport.”

A disabled waterskiing instructor, and disabled strongman competitor, Tye is a multi-talented athlete. He will be heading to Norway for the world championships a month before he competes in Sydney.

He said it has been difficult, but he has found a way to train for both: “It can work, it all depends how you map your day out, and your training plan.

"I’m doing a lot of strength work at the moment which actually does come into rowing because it’s the power that I can push through the handle.”

Rachel Williamson is another Team UK Invictus 2018 athlete. She has been a lover of sport for a long time, and narrowly missed out on a place at the Commonwealth Games as a swimmer as a teenager.

Unfortunately, she injured her right arm on the sports field. She was only medically discharged in February this year and had almost given up on sport.

However, she has come back fighting, and will be competing on the ergo and in the pool in Sydney.

Williamson said: “This has all happened at the perfect time.

"For me, being selected has helped me transition, helped me move on, and try not to be stuck at home all the time. You know, it gets you out the house.”  

Hannah Lawton is the talent ID coach for the GB Paralympic programme and has been the lead Invictus rowing coach since the Games began.

Lawton said: “It’s a really demanding sport I think that people don’t necessarily realise that. And equally, it’s a really technical sport.

“It’s really good all-round body fitness, and something that anybody can do, regardless of an impairment.

"We’ve got triple amputees that are rowing on a rowing machine – that just isn’t something you see on a regular basis, so it is a really good sport to get involved with.”    

The rowing competition comes near the start of the Invictus programme so it may mean a chance for some early medals.