Olympic rowing hopeful Georgia Nesbitt wants Tasmanians to help her in national challenge

She hopes to qualify for the Tokyo Olympics next year, and in the meantime this rower wants all Tasmanians to back her in a massive national challenge.

Australian and Tasmanian rower Georgia Nesbitt is back in Hobart after leaving her training base in Sydney due to coronavirus shutting down the facility. She is now encouraging Tasmanians to do the indoor rowing challenge. Picture: NIKKI DAVIS-JONES

OLYMPIC rowing hope Georgia Nesbitt has put out a call to all Tasmanian rowers — elite and amateur — to help boost the state’s numbers in Rowing Australia’s stay-at-home challenge from April 6-20.

With the Australian championships and interstate regatta two weeks ago both cancelled, RA issued a rowing machine challenge to each state to rack up as many kilometres a week as they can, from its Olympic hopefuls down to anyone with an ergo machine.

And with suppliers revealing rowing machines are selling like hot cakes in the coronavirus shutdown, Nesbitt, 27, of Hobart, expects there will be plenty of participants.

Georgia Nesbitt. Picture: ADAM NURKIEWICZ/GETTY IMAGES

“Each year I really enjoy racing at the nationals and interstate regatta — it’s one of my favourite races of the year when I’m in the Tasmanian lightweight quad,” Nesbitt said.

“The ergo challenge is a really great way to re-channel the interstate racing, although it is not on the water, which is sad, but it still gives us an outlet and is a great way to support our state.

“We are reaching out to younger club members, the masters, anyone with a machine, to join in. There was someone in their 70s clocking kilometres on their ergo and sending them in.

“We want everyone to get onboard.”

Under normal circumstances, the World Cup gold medallist and Tokyo Olympic Games hopeful would use her ergo-rower as a backup.

“We spend most of our time on the water,” Nesbitt said.

“We would do two or sometimes three sessions on the ergo per week, and that is not based on distances, most of them are done on time and they are very solid sessions.”

Nesbitt returned from the National Training Centre in Sydney a few weeks ago and has just come out of self-isolation.

Unfortunately, while locked away she tripped on a step in her back yard and injured her knee.

“Because of my knee I’m a little restricted at the moment, so I will be looking to contribute 4km each day,” she said.

“My knee has definitely held me back a bit but I will definitely be providing a lot of encouragement to everyone else in the challenge around the state.

“We are encouraging anyone with an ergo to get on it.”

Nesbitt and her lightweight double partner Sarah Pound, of Sydney, must wait until next year to qualify for the Tokyo Games, now scheduled to start on July 23 2021.