World title trip the prize for dedication

27 April 2007

By Paul Munnings

Having to make sacrifices is something that Noosa rower Sascha Lahey has had to become accustomed to since first taking her sport seriously a couple of years ago.

Her university studies have gone part-time, work is part-time at best, and what money she earns usually goes towards her rowing pursuits. And her social life? Well, that's pretty much non-existent.

However, all the time and effort she has put into a sport she first took up on the Noosa River, mainly for fitness reasons, has started to pay off big time.

On Tuesday the 20-year-old was named in the Australian squad for the world under-23 championships in Scotland ? her first experience as a national representative.

With Australian selection comes another sacrifice.

She has to leave Queensland for the next 10 weeks and head to Perth to prepare for the world titles with the rest of her coxless fours crew.

The other three members ? Libby Alderman, Megan Bagworth and Emily Rose ? are all based in Western Australia, as is their coach, Jason Lane.

"The next time I'll be home will be just before we leave for Europe," Lahey said.

"My partner and I did well at the nationals last week and I was hoping to get selected, but it was a bit tighter than we thought.

"We got called in to a meeting last Friday and it was going to be either good news or bad news. Luckily it was good news."

It was only over the past two years that Lahey, now a member of the Brisbane Rowing Club after starting out at Noosa, started to take her rowing seriously.

She had dabbled in kayaking, surfboats and swimming, but has quickly shown she is one of the best young talents in the country.

"I've stuck with it a bit more than the others," she admitted.

"I've made a few more sacrifices this time.

"I bought a boat and put all my money into that and went part-time at uni.

"I was doing part-time work as a physical trainer but that's stopped. We'll have to see what happens when I get back."

The world under-23 titles will be at Strathclyde in Scotland from July 26-29.

The Australian team will have a pre-meet camp in Zurich, Switzerland, earlier in the month.

Former Sunshine Coast rower Sonia Mills, who is based in Canberra, was included in the Australian Senior A team which will race at the two World Cup meets and the world championships in Germany (August 29-September 2).

Notable inclusions in the 60-strong squad include five-time Olympian James Tomkins, 42, and reigning world champions Duncan Free and Drew Ginn.