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Q&A with Debbie Flood
SPCK’s Partnerships Director, Primavera Quantrill, spoke to Olympic Rower Debbie Flood.
Why did you get involved with SPCK?
SPCK does a great job of resourcing so many areas. Whether it be schools, prisons, or people thinking about faith, access to information is really key, particularly with outreach in prisons. That’s something which interested me because of being a prison officer. I know just how much the lack of literacy and numeracy and positive messages has a huge impact on prisoners. As well as helping them learn to read and build their confidence, the positive messages that the Diffusion books give is something so valuable. It’s a great privilege to be involved and to be helping with raising money for that.
You worked for a time as a prison officer – what motivated you to do that?
It’s a long story really, but God really moved me from wanting to be a veterinary surgeon to really having a heart for young people who were disruptive or disengaged at school or disengaged within their families and that led me into the prison service to serve as a prison officer. I wanted to help these youngsters, and later on adults, to understand the capacities they have. That’s in briefly -- I could talk about it for hours!
How did you start rowing?
Rowing was an opportunity that just came across my path. My school didn’t row and rowing wasn’t that popular at the time. I’d loved sports from a young age and always wanted to go to the Olympics and had that Olympic dream. I’d done sport from a young age, so I was naturally fit and strong and I was naturally good on the rowing machine. Somebody just came up to me one day and said “you’re a rower” because they’d seen me working on the machine and that inspired me to give it a go. Nobody else was doing it, but it was the encouragement from one single person to give it a go that was the catalyst for me looking to do something different.
How important is it for young people to have those opportunities just to give stuff a go?
It’s so important, but also you need someone encouraging you. As a youngster you don’t know about things until someone encourages you and tells you this is something that could be really important to do. If nobody else is doing it as well you don’t see why you should. If there’s a mass of people doing it then you can go with the flow but often if a new opportunity presents itself sometimes its daunting to step into that. That’s why it’s so important for all of us to have someone, just one person who’s encouraging us, who believes in us or is going to walk alongside us.
When did you realise you could have world-class potential?
I always desired to have it, but it wasn’t until a key person who thought that I had potential took me on. He took the time to invest in me with his time and expertise and under him I could see myself getting better. A big part of knowing that I was heading towards my goal was that I could see improvements. That’s what’s so key; to have people around us encouraging us – like the help that SPCK give - and good resources. It’s those small improvements that remind you you’ve got scope to head somewhere.
What kept you reaching for those goals?
The people around me -- the fact that someone else who I respected within the world of rowing was willing to invest time in me. As a 17-year-old girl, I needed people who were on my side to give me encouragement. But also, knowing that God had given me gifts and opportunities and I didn’t want to waste them. I wanted to embrace life and see what it held. I think the important thing is not necessarily the results of where you end up, but knowing that you’ve embraced those opportunities. We can never guarantee results, but we can put our whole self into it and see what it brings.
How does it feel to win gold?
The first time you land on the podium and hear your national anthem is a pretty special time – it’s such a hard feeling to describe. But it’s not just about the one race you’ve won the gold in – you’re thinking about the years of your life that you’ve shared with the girls around you. It’s much more of a shared experience than that one moment and it represents lots of hard work.
What would you say to anyone who is training for a particular fitness goal?
There will be up and down days! Even if you really enjoy what you do, it doesn’t mean it will be easy every day. Keep pursuing your goal through the up and down days and set small goals each day -- whether that’s a physical goal or a goal to enjoy what you’re doing or a goal to do it somewhere else -- because your end goal might seem really far off. It is important to have some enjoyment in what you do, to feel the benefit of what you do. And also be thankful for the opportunities to do it and be joyful that.
What does it feel like to be returning to your old stamping grounds?
I did lots of racing on this part of the Thames, so all my memories of Putney are to do with racing, which I absolutely loved. A big part of my love of rowing was the racing -- and the socialising with other rowers after the event!
Why is this part of the Thames special to rowers?
It really is central to our winter domestic racing. It is that combination of working hard but then a massive friendship area – relaxing afterwards, celebrating and commiseration – it’s such a mixture of emotions about this area. – teammates rivals, training –all rolled into one. It’s full of emotions and memories for most rowers I’d imagine. And the conditions here on the Tideway are much trickier – this is where Olympians are made. If you’re a Tideway rower there’s definitely something else about you!
Debbie Flood will be talking about her faith, life and career with Andy Frost of Share Jesus International at the London Rowing Club in Putney on Thursday 11th July 7-9pm.
Tickets are just £15 which ALL goes to support SPCK’s Diffusion prison literacy programme. The ticket price includes a drinks reception, and a goody bag to take home worth £30. Get your tickets on EventBrite or phone Richard Scott at SPCK on 020 7592 3900. To donate to help give the gift of reading to prisoners, see www.justgiving.com/campaign/booksforprisoners.
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