5 Minutes with... Annabelle & Jess!

Local legend Annabelle McIntyre (FRC) is no stranger to success, having become Olympic Champion in the Women's Coxless Four at the Tokyo Games in 2021. In 2023, she and Olympic teammate Jess Morrison returned to the Pair full-time to see what they could do in the small boat. Anyone who followed International racing last season knows they were extremely successful - two World Cup wins, a new World's Best Time, and a Silver Medal at World Champs in a very hot field.

Annabelle & Jess took some time out of their (very) jam packed schedule to answer a few questions about their training, racing & much more...

Photo: Morrison (L) and McIntyre (R) after winning Silver at the 2023 Rowing World Championships. Credit: Vera Bucsu/Rowing Australia

Q: We know elite rowing demands a very high training load. Could you describe a typical training day or week when you're in full swing at the NTC?

Jess Morrison: Long row every morning - 7.30am - 9.30am, 90 min break, then weights (75min). Lunch and a bit of rest then back for another row (~70min) at 4pm. Most of us have appointments during the day in between sessions e.g physio/massage/sports psych, so the days are generally very packed. We are lucky to have food/nutrition provided at the NTC to support our training, having access to recovery food immediately before and after training sessions is extremely important for us.

Q: Your success across your careers would be attributable to a huge number of strengths both individually and as a crew. Which of these would you say has made the biggest impact on your performance?

JM: The desire to keep getting stronger and faster has kept us pushing for more speed time and time again. Although we have had some really great results, we have always felt that we can improve on them and there was always been a feeling of ‘how fast can we go’ mentally which keeps us setting the bar higher for ourselves. 

Annabelle McIntyre: I would have to second Jess's answer. Always being hungry for more and never wanting to settle when we achieve something new has been a big driver of our performances so far and we are definitely still using this today. 

Q; You have both been racing internationally for a few years now - what are the changes you are seeing in the elite rowing space?

AM:  With the introduction of the women's Coxless four as an Olympic boat class, the way countries are selecting their boats are changing making the racing at international level very interesting. The competition in that boat class has been increasing very rapidly over the last couple of years making it a very difficult category.

Q: If you could go back in time and give one piece of advice to yourselves at the beginning of your rowing journey what would it be?

AM:  I would say take the time to get most of your education out of the way while you're younger because it's a lot harder to complete once you've moved away from home - not impossible, just harder. Rowing is a sport where you the more time you commit to it (training consistently over years) you get better at it, so it's worth spending a bit of time setting yourself up while your younger to be able to commit yourself later on.

Questions from RWA Instagram Followers...

Q: What did a week of training look like when you were at a club level, and how did you balance school/study with training?

AM: I jumped into the sport pretty quickly and by my first and second year out of high school was training 2-3 times a day most days. Some semesters I was studying full-time and other part-time. I never really found an optimal balance which is something I regret. What I do recognise now though that it is very dependent on the individual and there is no singular plan that works for everyone.

Q: When did you know you wanted to row full time and be the best in the world?

AM: I never entered the sport with the intention to be a full-time rower or the best in the world. For me, one of the most enjoyable parts of my career has been the small discoveries along the way. The first time I was able to row square blades in the single, the first time I broke 7min in a 2km ergo. Learning how to row a pair. It wouldn't have been until I decided I wanted to try for a spot at the Women's NTC that I wanted to seriously row full-time and then again a year or two later that I could try and be one a decent rower.

Q: What is your gearing and oar length?

JM: we are currently exploring an optimal rig for our combination, but we have typically always raced at 87 span, 373cm oar length and 117 inboard. 

Q: How many kms do you do on the water vs on the erg?

AM: We are lucky enough row on (one might argue) one of the best river's to row on in the world. 90% of the time the water is really decent meaning we don't have to spend to much time on the ergs. Typically out of the 16-17 sessions we do a week, 2 will be on the erg. 

Q; In a Pair how do you decide who steers - and how do you improve your steering?

JM: easiest for the stroke seat to steer as they have the view of the stern. The bow seat generally looks around and gives direction instruction to the stroke seat. How to improve in steering…. Well Annabelle can answer that from a stroke seat perspective but in bow, just try to minimise the times you look around and when you do look around, try to minimise disrupting the stroke. I always look around at the finish of the stroke and have a good idea of the angle we need to turn, then when Annabelle makes the correction I can give feedback straight away on whether it was enough without needing to look around again. 

AM: It's very important to have your foot set up in a comfortable position (is your hip twisted in/out or neutral) so that you don't feel the need to shift or wriggle. The fillipi we row doesn't have a pointer to tell you what direction the rudder is pointing so I spend a lot of time looking at the stern to make sure it is running straight. When I'm looking at the stern, I try and feel if there is any sort of 'pulling' force on my foot and that will tell me if the rudder isn't straight. It takes a bit of time and a lot of concentration when you're first working it out but eventually gets easier. 

Huge thanks to Annabelle & Jess for their time and insights!!

Photo: In full flight off the start at the 2023 Rowing World Championships. Credit: Vera Bucsu/Rowing Australia