Jacinta Edmunds is from a famous rowing family but she is forging her own way in the sport

Emerging Brisbane rower Jacinta Edmunds is now forging her way up the ranks in the sport, but she was not always as graceful in the water as she is today.

Jacinta Edmunds, front, in action. Picture by Tristan Shipsides

Rising Australian rower Jacinta Edmunds will never forget her first, clumsy foray into rowing when she wore bike pants and a large polo shirt.

“This was my first mistake,’’ Edmunds recalled.

“But because I was a shy little squishy 12-year-old that didn’t want to wear tight clothes, this is what I wore.

“Anyway, I sat in the boat and the coach pushed me out off the bank so that I could attempt to take a stroke.

“Well, I took one stroke, my handles got caught in my large polo and I the next thing I knew I was swimming. Luckily I was only about 2m off the bank.’’

The only way was up from that point for Edmunds.

Indeed today she is a resident at the National Training Centre where she trains alongside her sister, Rio Olympian Maddie.

Yet the daughter of 1984 Olympic bronze medallist Ian Edmunds was not always sold on rowing.

“I think my interest in rowing stemmed from my family and their involvement. At first I wasn’t completely sold and was also participating in basketball and water polo, wanting to pursue these.

“However, I think that the reason I stuck with rowing was because of the camaraderie as well as during high-school you get the feeling of working towards something bigger than yourself and a sense of purpose.’’

Helping mould her into the elite athlete was her time with the historic Commercial Rowing Club at West End. “Commercial helped foster a rowing environment outside of my high school team,’’ she said fondly.

“I was always in awe of the older girls who trained there and loved being included in their events and training sessions.’’

The early starts at Commercial and for St Margaret’s Anglican Girls College clearly did not dulled her sense of humour.

Asked about her aims and aspirations, Edmunds listed representing Australia at the 2020 Olympics as a goal alongside “winning a game of settlers of Catan ‘Cities and Knights Edition” and “including more puns in daily life and reducing my caffeine intake’’.

While Jacinta is proud of her dad and sister for making Olympic teams, she is her own person with her own goals.

“I am very proud of my sister and what she can do and what she has done. I definitely draw encouragement from her but usually I don’t tend to compare myself to her,’’ the Payne Road State School past student said.