Hannah Scott has given 'everything' for a shot at the big leagues

Hannah Scott has given ‘blood, water and everything' to retain her place on the British rowing team and wouldn't have it any other way.

Having raced single sculls last year, the 23-year-old from Coleraine will step into the women's quad for the European Championships at Lake Bled, Slovenia.

After a tough Tokyo Olympics, the British women's programme has undergone an overhaul under Australian head coach Andrew Randell that yielded instant dividends in 2022.

Scott is a fully-paid up member of the Randell fan club.

"The one thing this programme for the women shows is respect for each other," said Scott.

"If you can get a seat in a crew boat now, there are definitely no passengers. All of us have earned our seats and are bringing something unique to that boat.

"There definitely weren't any passengers before but every seat has had blood, water, everything thrown at it to get there.

"Before it was jumping through hoops, but now everyone has sacrificed something. The programme has been a lot more challenging just to get in the boat and cope with the training itself."

Scott was fast-tracked into Team GB for her Olympic debut, finishing seventh in the women's quad six months after joining the senior team.

She made a calculated decision to pursue the single last year and took an excellent fifth at the 2022 World Championships.

"I took a lot from the season in the single," said Scott. "I was learning so much about myself going down the track in those races which I think is really valuable for this Olympic cycle.

"I ended up fifth in the world and felt there was so much to improve on, and I think I can bring that into the quad this year.

"I had a bit of a quick rise into the team and the Olympics and it was very turbulent in that regard. Last year evened things out and I feel I've found my swing now.

"I've improved mentally, physically and technically. I'm sharper this year and ready to go."

Scott is joined in the quad by Georgie Brayshaw and Lucy Glover, part of the boat that won World Championship bronze last year.

Youngster Lauren Henry, who stunned the field to win single sculls gold at April's Trials, completes the crew for the Europeans.

"We want a gold medal at Europeans," said Scott. "We're looking at that this year, a medal is always great but this year we're looking at the colour of it.

The girls did a great job of getting the boat into a medal position, so we're hoping to move forward and the confidence has been set."

British Rowing is the governing body for the sport and is responsible for the development of rowing in England and the training and selection of rowers to represent Great Britain. The GB Rowing Team is supported by the National Lottery Sports Fund. To find out more, and to follow the team, head to https://www.britishrowing.org/