STRATFORD Boat Club’s Kjersti Rogneflaten-Woolley is celebrating after winning at the Trafford Head of the Bridgewater in Greater Manchester on Saturday.
Trafford Rowing Club is a very friendly and welcoming club on the outskirts of Manchester and Stratford masters rower Rogneflaten-Woolley was certainly all smiles in the north west.
The race is over 3,200m and Rogneflaten-Woolley competed in her single in Division One against a female athlete from the nearby Hollingworth Lake Rowing Club.
Having great respect for her opposition and knowing she had won bronze at a recent indoor rowing competition, Rogneflaten-Woolley set out hard, wanting to put distance between them.
This year, Rogneflaten-Woolley was prepared for the windy conditions through the famous Budenberg Flats which occur about 500m from start and so carried on regardless. The last 1,000m is a straight course and, worried the opposition would push hard, Rogneflaten-Woolley put the throttle down.
She won the race by 45 seconds which was an improvement on her time from last year by two minutes and 30 seconds, although 2018 was on a blustery winter day with ice on the canal in the morning!
Rogneflaten-Woolley said: “I was so pleased I was able to work hard throughout the race and I am so grateful to my coach and mentor Chris Straw who has helped me to get more power into my strokes.”
