Frances Houghton MBE on being a five-time Olympian and other life lessons

Girl on the River

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4+ y ago 1:04:36

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Ep 7. I wanted to start the year with a really special guest, and my goodness, that's what I've got for you! Frances Houghton MBE has represented GB in rowing at five Olympic Games. She has won three Olympic silver medals, four World Championship gold medals and one European title. She's also an incredibly thoughtful person who's collected an amazing amount of wisdom over the years and has distilled it into a brilliant book called Learnings from Five Olympic Games, which you can buy here.
Frances was an absolutely brilliant guest and, in common with other Olympians I've interviewed, incredibly and not remotely starry. We talk about:

Her life in Cornwall - walking, sea swimming, gig rowing and surfing
Whether she has any unfinished business, looking back at her rowing career
The change in mindset she adopted after Beijing and how it enabled her to return to rowing
Togetherness and the Rio 8+ (plus the challenges they went through when the crew was dismantled and seat-raced)
Honesty and cohesion in crews
The Olympic training regime
Periods and hormones
Whether she was able to retain the joy of rowing despite the tough regime
Frances' relationship with the ergo and her tips for erg tests
Whether you ever actually enjoy a race
What it feels like on the start (and the weird thing about vinegar)
Olympic Village life and the differences between the five Games
The post-Olympic crash
Learning not to be the expert in the crew
Sports psychology
Cooking and training as a chef and the Ballymaloe Cookery School.

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33 episodes

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