PICTURE SPECIAL: World champion rower Sanita Puspure visits Limerick's St Michael's Rowing Club

ST Michael's Rowing Club welcomed three-time Olympian and two-time World and European Champion, Sanita Puspure, to the club on Saturday last for a day of coaching and a questions and answers session.

Sanita has recently graduated with a BSc in Strength and Conditioning as well as taking on her first coaching role as Head Coach with UCC Rowing Club.

Read more below or click 'Next' or 'Previous' for more pictures 

Pictures by Kieran Ryan-Benson

The accomplished rower is building up her coaching skills and St Michael's jumped at the chance to have her coach for the day. Sanita was onsite in the O'Callaghan Strand clubhouse to meet with each of the club's junior boys and girls squads, as well as their coaches. She brought a wealth of knowledge and experience to share with St Michael's.

Sanita joined the junior boys and girls on the water and for some land training on the rowing ergometers. She was very impressed by the rowing technique of the crews, particularly the consistency and quality between all the crews, across the age groups.

The St Michael's coaches have designed their programme to bring this level of consistency to the squads and it was great to have it acknowledged and valued by Sanita.

This was Sanita's first time on the Limerick city stretch of the Shannon River. St Michael's row downriver from the boathouse, past Barrington's Pier to where the river opens with two sweeping bends at the Cement Factory and further down as the aptly named '2nd Bend', where the river opens out to the Shannon Estuary.

When the weather is right the crews will clock up 10-15kms on a return trip. Sanita was in the accompanying coaches launch getting the chance to view the crews up close and to offer tips and techniques to get the most out of every stroke.

She passed on some simple and effective exercises which she performs even now. "I've been rowing for over 20 years, and I never stop learning about the technique. Exercises like these will keep you connected to the stroke, and you need to remember that small changes can bring big effects" - Sanita.

The Q&A sessions allowed the rowers to gain insight into Sanita's distinguished rowing career of more than 20 years, including the highs and lows, race day preparation, nutrition, mental health and setting goals and objectives.

Sanita reminded the crews that their opposition crews are all training as hard and are just as fit and as strong. "Improving diet, optimising the rowing technique, injury prevention all add up and give you those marginal gains you need to be able to win," she said.

"The rowing season in winter consists of slow, long-distance training which can be monotonous for the kids. We try to break things up with some nutrition talks, racing among the squads as well as hikes when the weather is against us. Having Sanita onsite to spend the day with our crews has been invaluable.

"It's rare that any rower would have the chance for one-on-one time with an Olympian and World Champion. We're hoping to invite Sanita back during the racing season to focus on race plans and maximising performance" said St Michael's Club Captain, Mike McDonagh who organised the event.

Sanita's distinguished rowing career, which goes back more than 20 years, began in her native Latvia, where in 2003, she placed third in the single scull competition at the World Under-23 Championships, and the following year took the gold medal in the double scull at the World Student Games.

Work, married life and parenthood took over and the competitive rowing career was put on hold. She moved to Ireland in 2006, when her husband Kaspar got a job at Dublin Airport.

A chance trip near Island Bridge, Dublin's rowing hub, prompted a return to the sport. It wasn't long before Sanita's competitiveness kicked in and within a few years she won the single sculls event at the Irish Championships 2009 and going on to repeat that success at the following year's competition and taking the double sculls title too.

She competed for Ireland for the first time in 2009 at the Home Internationals in Nottingham where she was part of the Irish Squad which included St Michael's rowers Niall MacInerney, James Fahey and Mark O'Brien.

2012 was her breakthrough year where she qualified for the London Olympic Games, Ireland's only rowing representative, via her 4th place finish at Lucerne Regatta.

Sanita's qualification meant she was Ireland's first female rower to compete at the Olympics since 1980, when the legendary Frances Cryan, of Carrick on Shannon, placed 7th in the single scull.

In September 2018, Sanita won the single sculls at the world championships in Plovdiv, Bulgaria, her first world title. She defended her title a year later in Linz-Ottensheim, Austria, and qualified at the event for the 2020 Olympics, her second Olympic Games. Sanita also added the European Championships to her medal haul in both 2019 and 2020.

St Michael's is currently recruiting male and female Novice rowers (adults over 18), anyone interested in learning more can contact the club via smrccaptain@gmail.com. The club next competes this weekend at the National Rowing Centre in Cork for  Muckross Rowing Club's Head of the River 3,000m time trial event. The crews will feel boosted after their coaching time with Sanita - how's that for a marginal gain!