Succeeding as an elite sportsperson requires levels of dedication that most mere mortals cannot even imagine.

For Glasgow rower Rowan McKellar, that meant her wedding day began not with a hair and make-up session and meeting the photographer, but instead an intensive training session on the water.

That might seem excessive, but in a sport where the tiniest margins can be the difference between Olympic glory and missing out on the podium altogether, every session counts.

The 29-year-old McKellar, who married Matt Cummings in January, is aiming to compete at her second Olympics in Paris this summer, meaning that a honeymoon in the Alps will have to wait a little longer.

She said: “We’ve been trying to work out when the heck we would get round to it. We decided to just do it. We had a very small ceremony with my family and my husband’s family. It was a really nice day, I’m very happy we just went for it. The little wedding was really nice and it was exactly what we imagined.

“The honeymoon will be post-Olympics. We’re going to go and do some walking in the Alps this September. We had the Sunday off, which was pretty nice. I also didn’t want to take time off.

“I rowed in the morning and then headed off in the afternoon to get married. We actually surprised both our families on the day. It was very low-key and really fun. The training session wasn’t too hard, but one where I needed to keep to schedule, I had somewhere I needed to be!”

Since that wedding in January, McKellar has been training hard with the first World Cup event of the season just a month away.

That regatta in Varese will be telling when it comes to GB’s selection for the Olympics, with the make-up of the boats likely to be similar, if not identical, to those on the start line in Paris.

With major event experience in the pair, the four and the eight, McKellar is a credible option in all three boats, but that does not reduce the tension around that first selection decision.

“There’s always moving parts at the moment,” added McKellar, who is one of over 1,000 elite athletes on UK Sport’s National Lottery-funded World Class Programme, allowing her to train full time, have access to the world’s best coaches and benefit from pioneering medical support.

We all have to wait and see. It’s exciting because we have managed to qualify the pair, the four and the eight. So to be able to race in anything would be amazing and I think there is a really, really good chance of some medals in more than just one boat.

“There are little nuances between the boats which you have to dial up or dial down depending on which one you are in. The main difference is the dynamics of the boat rather than the actual physical rowing. A pair, there are just two of you, you live in each other’s pockets. You spend basically all your time together. In the four, it’s a little bit easier, there are a few more people, to dilute who you train with day in, day out.

“Then in the eight, it’s a big group and you have Henry (Fieldman) the cox, who brings a very different dynamic. There is someone in the boat who has more authority and is there to make you all better. It’s a really cool thing.

“Racing the pair is definitely the scariest, most people would say that. But the eight and the four are both fun.”

McKellar has spent the most time in the four, including in Tokyo four years ago where the team had to settle for fourth place, as GB’s rowers struggled across the board.

That has changed in the three years since, with a world title in the four in 2022 followed by bronze last year, in addition to a gold and two silvers at European level.

It is a sign of the turnaround in fortunes that over the last two Worlds, Britain have won eight gold medals in Olympic events, having won none in the three editions between Rio and Tokyo.

That means that McKellar’s second Olympic experience should be vastly different to her first, albeit, final selection will not be confirmed until early June.

She acknowledged how much has changed in terms of the team dynamic, adding: “Tokyo was amazing but the Covid situation really, it didn’t taint it but it was always in the back of your mind. It was a crazy time thinking back. All you have been training for could be over in one spit test in the morning. It was crazy how quickly everything could change and it did for some people. I feel for them because that is a terrible way to end your Olympics if that did happen.

“It’s a funny one because if we had got a medal, it would have been absolutely amazing, but for the whole Olympic cycle, I don’t think we won a medal at the World Championships. A medal would have been absolutely incredible but we sort of finished where we had been finishing in the World Championship events.

“I am pleased we came fourth and not fifth, I’m pleased we made the final so there were a lot of positives. We stepped on really well throughout the regatta. It’s put me into a better place for this Games having done one but it is still a little bit disappointing.

“In the grand scheme of things, I think we did as well as we could have done. We executed what we had to offer. I’m hoping in Paris, if we can do that, we will have more to offer. If we can do that, I’m hoping we can get onto the podium.”

If McKellar makes it onto the podium, one person who will be leading the celebrations back home is her granny Betty, a legend in Lochwinnoch, who collects newspaper cuttings of every interview or report on her granddaughter.

Three years ago, that meant a new TV, while this year McKellar’s focus will be on ensuring her exploits make it to terrestrial TV.

McKellar explained: “I always ask Shelley (the British Rowing press officer) for any interviews that I’ve done because I always need to make sure Granny gets it. I want her to pick up the right newspaper.

“Both my grannies are very supportive and things like this are really nice. It’s nice to read something in the newspaper about me. For the last Olympics, she managed to get a new TV for the Games. It was a big thing and I’m very lucky with the support I’ve got.

“I don’t think she’ll make it out to Paris. Some of the races last time weren’t on BBC so this year, I need to make sure she can get it on the TV. She won’t make it but she’ll be watching. The family support does make a huge difference, them being able to be there, whoever can come, is just awesome.”

The Covid-19 pandemic meant that not even McKellar’s nearest and dearest were able to watch her Olympic debut in person in Tokyo.

But that will certainly not be the case in Paris, where most of the clan will be heading over.

She added: “Hopefully it will be a different experience with fans and I’m really excited that my family will be able to be there. I’m excited that it is so close.

“It was really cool that Tokyo was a big trip and going somewhere completely new. It would have been even more cool if the Covid situation hadn’t happened. But it’s really fun that this one is close, more aunties and uncles can come and I think it’s going to be exciting.

“My parents are die-hards. They are there for every single race. My mum missed one race, and it was actually the first medal that me and Hattie Taylor got in the pair. She insists now that she won’t miss another one.

“My parents are real rowing enthusiasts. It’s great knowing they will be there and most of the time they know when my races are before me. I ask them the dates of the World Cup and they are all over it. It’s great that they come out.”

Having been on hand to see McKellar tie the knot at the start of the year, now her parents have the chance to watch their daughter potentially claim a first Olympic medal this summer. It looks as though 2024 may be very special in more ways than one.

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