Dunking can't dampen Harriet's day
ROWING star Harriet Hudson recovered from a few seconds in the Fitzroy River in her first single skull competition to finish the year with a gold medal in the same event at the state club championships.
The Warwick student is a boarder at Somerville House in Brisbane and only took up rowing this year.
She enjoyed outstanding success with Somerville in the Queensland Girls Secondary School Sports Association in rowing before competing in the Queensland Secondary School Championships in Rockhampton.
The Somerville rowers complete four two-hour sessions a week on the Brisbane Corso in the run-up to major competitions.
Harriet won three gold medals last week in the state club championships at Bucca Weir in Bundaberg.
She was first in the single, double and quad skulls.
One of her Somerville team-mates all season in the quad skulls was Meg Mackenzie, the cox, whose grandparents hail from Killarney.
In her first race at Rockhampton in single skulls, Harriet fell out with 200 metres to go but was quickly out of the waters of the Fitzroy River and back in her boat.
A few seconds in the drink at Rockhampton has not dinted her determination to success in rowing.
"I want to compete in the Olympic Games," Harriet said.
Away from rowing, Harriet also competed in school competitions in swimming, netball, cross country, touch, water polo and athletics.
This year, she was fourth in the 800m at the QGSSSA athletics carnival.
Her other athletics events are the 1500m and long jump.
