Leonora Kennedy’s bid to make the 2016 Olympic Games in Brazil has not been blown of course despite a tough outing in the Women’s Pairs at the European Rowing Championships in Poznan, Poland at the weekend.

Leonora Kennedy’s bid to make the 2016 Olympic Games in Brazil has not been blown of course despite a tough outing in the Women’s Pairs at the European Rowing Championships in Poznan, Poland at the weekend.

An interrupted preparation due to a tummy bug did not help and along with Pairs partner Monika Dukarska, a “disastrous” semi-final row meant that they had to settle for a ninth place finish following a weekend to forget.

However, there is much left to row for and a determined Leonora was certainly looking forward and not back.

“To be honest, the championships didn’t go as we’d planned. We came ninth but we were hoping to be in the top six. I had a tummy bug at the start of the week which wasn’t the best lead up. I felt fine through the racing but still it interrupted preparation,” explained Leonora.

She added: “The heat went alright, we executed a safe race but the semi final was a disaster. We didn’t cope with the conditions at all. It was very windy which made it incredibly rough water to row in. This is something we can work on the next few weeks and months.” Next up for Leonora is regatta in Switzerand which will attract top Pairs from all over the world while the focal point of the season remains the World Championships on Lake Aiguebelette in France. It is there where the top 11 crews will gain selection for Rio.

Leonora is looking forward to the challenge.

“Our next regatta is World Cup Three in Lucerne, Switzerland. We will meet crews from Europe and the rest of the world at this regatta, so it will be a good lead up to the ultimate regatta of the season which is the world championships. The world championships which are at the end of August/start of September is the main opportunity to qualify for Rio. The top 11 boats in the Women’s Pair will qualify for Rio. There is only one other opportunity to qualify which is the qualification regatta in Lucerne in 2016. We learnt a lot from last weekend, and we have a lot of work to do going forward. Monika and I are extremely dedicated, and will only move onwards and upwards from these championships.”