Welcome back to Strong Women’s new series, Going for Gold, where we’ll be looking behind the scenes with incredible female Olympians and Paralympians in the run-up to Paris 2024. From what their training regimes look like to how they support their hormonal health, consider this your insider guide to what it takes to be one of the best in the world.

This time around, we’re chatting with Lauren Rowles MBE, a Paralympic GB para-rower and Adidas athlete who made history in Paris this week by becoming the first woman to win rowing golds at three different Paralympics, after she and her teammate Gregg Stevenson claimed victory in the mixed PR2 double sculls. Alongside her trio of gold medals, Rowles also has European and World Champion titles to her name and represented Great Britain in wheelchair track racing as a teenager.

Congratulations on your gold medal performance, Lauren! Can you tell us how you first got into para-rowing and when you knew you had potential?

I first gave para-rowing a go in 2015, when I was 16 years old. At the time I was competing in para-athletics and I went to the Commonwealth Games as the youngest member of the English team for wheelchair track racing, so I was already involved in the para-sport pathway. The British rowing team scouted me as part of their talent ID team, and I was invited to go and try indoor rowing for the first time. After that, they invited me down to the training centre in Reading (I had to convince my mum to drive me there all the way from Birmingham), where I got on the water for the first time.

I had no idea what rowing on the water looked like – I was expecting to get into a canoe and paddle forwards – but once I’d wrapped my head around it all and got out on the water, I remember feeling this incredible sense of freedom. I became disabled at 13, so I hadn’t been in a chair for very long at that point, but I’d begun to feel quite trapped by it. So being on the water and being free from everything was like a kind of therapy.

What does your training regime look like to help you prepare for a competition?

It changes throughout the year. In the winter we usually spend more time inside on the indoor rower and in the weights room, but in the warmer months and in the lead-up to the Paralympics, about 90% of my program is on the water. Of course we’ll throw some gym and indoor sessions in there throughout the year just to keep things ticking over, but the balance does shift throughout the year.

I do between 25-30 hours of training a week, and over the last couple of months we’ve used that time to practise being out on the water and perfecting my craft.

How do you go about fuelling all that training?

Us rowers eat a lot of calories – often I’ll eat in the region of 5,000 calories a day, which means multiple breakfasts and dinners. But as for what I eat, I like to keep it really simple. When you’re in the Athletes’ Village there’s so much to choose from, but I try to stick to what my body is used to. I always make sure to have a stable protein source and stay away from overly rich foods in the lead-up to a race. Of course, now my racing is over, I can fully enjoy myself and be a complete foodie.

Some athletes use caffeine to boost their energy levels. What’s your approach?

I’m a big coffee lover, but funnily enough, I don’t drink it in the lead-up to or on race day. As someone with ADHD, I find that caffeine can make me feel a little too buzzed. I’ve got quite high energy levels already, so I haven’t had any since I’ve been here in the Athletes’ Village. But when I’m not in competition mode I love drinking coffee, and getting coffee with friends is a big part of my social life.

Do you drink alcohol?

Not really. As a high performance athlete it’s just not something that’s part of my lifestyle. I’ll occasionally have a drink if we’re out of season and I’m not training (I’m hoping to have some nice wine or champagne to celebrate my win while I’m out here in Paris), but otherwise it’s not something I regularly think about.

Does sleep play a big role in your recovery?

As an elite athlete, sleep is obviously super-important, so I’ve been getting a lot of sleep here. But before I came here, I wasn’t getting much sleep because I’ve just become a parent, so I’ve had quite a few sleepless nights. It’s been a real adjustment: I know I function well when I’m getting eight hours and with a young child that’s just not realistic. But I’ve been impressed with how well my body has adapted to it all. 

Does your training schedule allow for hormonal fluctuations – ie a regular menstrual cycle – and how do you manage those?

Being part of a mixed crew means we have to work together to ensure we both peak at the right time. So while we have a generalised training programme from our head coach that dictates our training schedule throughout the year, there are some opportunities for individualisation within that. For example, if I’m feeling weaker or stronger at certain parts of my cycle, then I might change what I’m doing in the weights room. But we have a check-in when we come in every day to work these things out, so it’s easy to do. At the end of the day, communication is key.

When you’ve got a big competition coming up, how do you prepare?

I always make sure to start my preparation the night before by laying out my kit and ensuring I’ve got everything I need. Turning up and looking the part is a big part of my race day mindset, so I like to check every little detail. On the morning of a competition, I usually have to wake up early (at the Paralympics we’ve been getting up at 5am every day to get to the rowing venue), but I always make sure I have time to do my hair and check that everything’s looking good.

Once I’m at the venue, I start doing my visualisations and thinking about the race ahead. I try to think of every section of the race ahead and imagine how I’m going to feel and what I’m going to do at each moment. Doing that helps me to feel more confident  I know when I’m in the race that I’ve already pictured the scenario I’m in. 

After that’s done and I’m on the start line, I just try really hard to be in the moment. It’s easy to get distracted by what’s going on around you, so I focus on deep breathing and ground myself by thinking about what’s ahead.

How do you celebrate after a big win?

After winning gold all I could think of doing was holding my arms open wide, looking up to the sky and soaking in that moment of glory. I love to do a big celebration like that. Looking forward, I just want to spend time with my family, friends and people who have supported me. I think it’s important to share these moments with the people who have been there for me, so that’s what I’m going to do. I’ll also be spending a little bit of time in Paris watching the rest of the Games. 

Being a competitive athlete comes with some hard times – can you tell us about the toughest moment of your career so far and how you navigated it?

The pressure I put on myself in the run-up to and after the Tokyo Paralympics was really tough to deal with. I pushed myself incredibly hard to get that second gold medal, so I didn’t really enjoy the process and just felt a bit lost after I’d achieved it. This time around, I’ve tried hard to not let the pressure I put on myself become too destructive, and I think I’ve done a really good job. Winning gold this time around felt completely different to Tokyo – I felt like I could really enjoy the moment and be present rather than just feeling relieved that the whole thing was over. That change in mindset has really helped me.

Who do you see as the biggest inspiration for women in para-rowing?

I’ve had so many inspirations throughout my career. When I joined British Rowing in 2015 I was surrounded by so many incredible women like Katherine Grainger, Heather Stanning and Helen Glover – the absolute greats of our sport. I was really inspired by them and pushed hard to be in the same league as them. I got a message from Helen after my win and it meant so much. She was one of the role models I had when I entered this sport and I’ve grown up watching women like her.

The para-rower Kathryn Ross is also a big inspiration. She was unbeaten in the years when I first joined the sport and then I started challenging her. We were rivals for a few years but then became close friends, and it’s been great to have someone who has had similar experiences and can relate to the ups and downs of what we do.

Simone Biles has also been a source of inspiration to me recently, especially in the run-up to the Games. Seeing the pressure she has to deal with is incredible, and her resilience is amazing to see. She’s spoken out so brilliantly about her mental health struggles and how she deals with it all, and I love how authentic she is about her experience.

What’s one piece of advice would you give to an amateur para-rower who is looking to improve?

Be consistent. You have to do thousands of strokes to perfect your craft, and there’s always something you can work on. I’ve been rowing for nearly 10 years and I’ve done tens of thousands of strokes in that time, but I’m still working on finding the perfect stroke.

Images: Getty