Sam Voss is back representing New Zealand after breaking her ankle last year.
Sam Voss will be returning to the world stage later this year after being selected to represent New Zealand at the Under 23 World Rowing Championships in Poland.
The 2014 St Peter’s graduate was the only Cambridge local named on the U23 NZ team last week, following a six-day trial at Karapiro.
It’s a much-awaited move for the 21-year-old, who had to put her rowing career on hold last year when she seriously injured herself a week out from trials.
Having represented New Zealand at the U23 World Champs in 2015, and being forced to miss out last year, she’s readier than ever to take on the world in Poznan.
“I’m very excited… I was sitting in a hospital bed when these guys were all trialling last year, so it’s nice to be out and doing it,” said Sam. “It wasn’t that the fire was out, but it relit the fire, threw some gasoline on it and got it going, because when you want to be doing something and you can’t, it’s very frustrating.”
Sam, who will turn 22 just before flying to Poland in July, dislocated her ankle and broke it in three places when she dropped a coach boat on her ankle last year. “It was tough, but in the same token I knew that it wasn’t the end of the dream, so just for that reason it was actually quite enlightening because it made me realise it was a hundred per cent what I wanted to do and where I wanted to be.”
Sam began training this week alongside other members of the U23 team, and coach Matt Cameron, out of the Waikato Regional Performance Centre next to Mighty River Domain.
“There’s something about being on the water… you just don’t really want to be anywhere else,” said Sam. “We go to these places that you wouldn’t necessarily travel to, and that in itself is very exciting because you’re seeing completely different parts of the world. The (Poznan) course itself, is rumoured to be fairly fast, so that’s going to be quite exciting as well, hopefully there’s going to be some awesome times put down.”
Sam will transfer next door to the Rowing NZ High Performance Centre towards the end of April, training from there until the U23 team flies to Poland in July two weeks out from the competition.
“I wouldn’t be competing at this level if I wasn’t going there to win,” she said.
