Interview

Twenty four-year-old slalom paddler Fiona Pennie won a silver medal in last years World Championships, the last time a woman won an individual medal in the worlds was Lynn Simpson over ten years ago in 1995.

At the time of press Fiona will be competing in this year’s Worlds Championships in Foz Do Iguassu, Brazil on 8th-23rd September, her mind will be set qualifying a boat for the Beijing Olympics and medalling.

The determined and gutsy paddler has lots of talent and plenty of focus so we took time out to meet her and find more about; how she got into canoeing, a typical days training her career highlights and hopes for the future.

How did you first become involved in kayaking?
My mum, Maureen Pennie (nee McClure) was a champion flatwater sprint paddler and I first sat in a boat when I was a few months old. A few years further down the line, I started paddling my very own boat, an orange ‘Inn Minor’ which gave me the worst fibreglass rash ever! In 1991, when I was eight, I did my 1 Star which I passed, but I did it again the very next year just for fun as I was too young to move onto my 2 Star!

Were you instantly drawn to slalom?
Donald McKechnie, a member of C.R. CATS, instructed my second 1 Star course. He invited me to take part in a taster slalom that was going to take place in Alva. I went along and really enjoyed it. Of course I had to try out some flatwater as well; I don’t think mum would have allowed me not to! I did a few of the Kirkcaldy Canoe Club regattas and took part in their winter series of handicap marathons on the Union Canal in Linlithgow, but slalom was always my main discipline.

What is it about kayaking you like so much?
Everybody says it must be great doing something you enjoy full time and travelling all over the world with it. And it is, but it’s harder work than some may think! Granted it’s better than sitting behind a desk 9 to 5! But I love the new challenge of every course and trying to be the fastest on it. When things start to go well, it just flows and paddling almost seems effortless which is a nice feeling to work towards!

When did you win your first race?
Phone a friend! Apparently I was promoted to Div 4 in September 1993 when I was ten, having won the Comrie Div 5 Slalom.

Did you join a canoe club?
I joined Perth Canoe Club in the winter of 1992 and was helped mainly by Richard Rogers who my mum had taught to paddle! At the time, the club was involved with some slalom and canoe polo. In a polo boat, I was a little whippersnapper who paddled right up on top of the big boys’ boats! As my slalom training became slightly more serious, I joined C.R CATS where I was taking part in sessions twice a week.

Vital Statistics

Date of birth: 09.11.1982 University: Nottingham Coach: Shaun Pearce ex-World Champion in men’s kayak, Tacen, Yugoslavia 1991 Slalom since: 1992 but played in boats since a few months old Hometown: Cotgrave, Nottingham Marital status: Single Height/weight: 169cm/70kg Occupation: Full time athlete Class: K1 Women Club: C.R. Cats Paddles: Double Dutch Kinetic on Powercrank Shaft Supported by: Team Visa, Nomad, Peak UK

What is your typical day training?
Each day is slightly varied depending on what sessions I am doing due to the time of year and what intensity the training is that week. However, a typical day would usually consist of my alarm going off at 06.45 (because I take 15 minutes to actually get out of bed!), then getting down to the course for 08.00. Morning sessions are usually whitewater sessions, just over an hour long, doing anything from technique to full runs to VO2 sessions. Afterwards we sometimes have video review of the session and then I usually have 101 jobs to go and do as well as eat some lunch before my afternoon session! I have weights sessions three or four times a week depending on the time of year. Afternoon sessions are usually either weights, a painful session on the flatwater or some short and technical work on the whitewater. And of course, around all this (just for the physios out there), I enthusiastically and passionately do my physio exercises!

Are you naturally competitive?
In a word, OK three words, very much so! I can make a competition out of anything!

What is the highlight of your career so far?
Winning the BCU’s photo competition for the month of June! It would have to be my silver medal at the World Championships in 2006. After a difficult season of racing, things came together for the worlds and I had fou runs where I had little to complain about. I was just amazed that I managed to hold it together right through until the final!

What have been the toughest moments and how do you keep yourself motivated?
Getting a frozen spraydeck on when I was a wee girl! It needed four grown men and a flask of coffee to get it on again for the afternoon session! Breaking my arm in the summer of 2003 wasn’t such a great thing and it took four months of tearful physio sessions four times a week to get me back on the water! I went through a difficult patch prior to the Europeans in 2006 where everything was just going wrong. Poor World Cup results meant I wanted to prove myself but I ended up trying too hard and just got worse and worse, beating myself up for anything. A few last minute changes turned me around just in time for the Europeans and onto the worlds. I guess when sessions are tough or when you get into troughs like that, you just have to remind yourself of your ultimate goal and why you are doing it.

Career Highlights:

2007 European Championships: Slovakia, 10th and 3rd in women’s team World Cups: Prague, 3rd, Tacen 9th, Augsburg 9th Overall 4th 2006 World Championships: Prague, 2nd European Championships: L’Argentiere 7th 2005 European Championships U23: Krakow 3rd 2001 World Cup: Prague 10th 2000 Junior World Championships: 3rd World Cups: Overall Junior World Cup Champion

How are you preparing for Beijing 2008?
Top secret! Well at the moment, I’m only thinking about getting to Beijing 2008 in the first place! That’s the hardest part as a GB K1 woman with only one boat place available for the games in each category. I think my first port of call will be taking a drill to every K1 women’s boat on the boat racks at selection in Holland next year! As I am writing this, we are actually in Beijing, training at the new Olympic course – it’s a tough one! Tomorrow I’ll be racing in the ‘Good Luck Beijing’ test event. We have another two week training camp here in October and then the Olympic team will spend a month here in May and June as well as the time immediately prior to the Olympics. Other than that, I have monthly, five day training camps on the Dutch Water Dreams course in Holland throughout the winter to prepare for two of the races that make up Olympic selection in April, the third race being in Nottingham.

What would be your ultimate goal to achieve in slalom racing?
Ultimately, I want to consistently paddle well and be one of the best in the world. Of course it would be nice if this included a few more of those shiny things at championship races and an Olympic one would be good too!

What advice would you give to up and coming slalom paddlers?
When I was younger, I did nearly every sport under the sun. Legendary Scottish coach, John Brown thinks that this always helped with my general fitness for paddling even if I didn’t manage to get into a boat that often. Other than that I would say just get out there and get the miles (or should I say waves) under your belt (or rather boat)! I flung myself down Grandtully when I was tiny and eventually I learnt not to swim! But all the whitewater made me stronger and gutsier. Most slalom clubs do weekly coached sessions – get involved! I did a lot of judging at higher division races when I was younger just to get experience on the big stuff in a race situation. For junior paddlers: talk to Mum and Dad nicely! Sweet-talking goes a long way and I don’t think I would have got to where I am without mum and dad’s taxis taking me to every training session and race available!

For more information about how the GB team performed in the World Championships visit: www.worldclass-canoeing.org.uk

Thank you Fiona for taking the time to give this interview.
Photos: Dave Leathborough