It was on a Sunday afternoon last November that Perth psychologist Davinia Lefroy got a “flattering” phone call asking her to try out for one of Australia’s Paralympics rowing teams.
“I think I was really happy and relaxed at that stage so I said, ‘Sure, why not?’ and a couple of days later I was doing ergo tests and on the water doing speed trials,” Lefroy said.
“So I sort of jumped right back into it, but I guess had the attitude of give it a go and do my best and here I am.”
Lefroy, who is vision impaired, will compete in Rio in September in the Legs, Trunk and Arms Mixed Coxed Four with fellow West Australian Brock Ingram, and from New South Wales Jeremy McGrath, Kate Murdoch and coxswain Jo Burnand.
The team has already made Australian Paralympic history by becoming the first to qualify a boat in the class for the games.
They won all their races in the qualifying regatta in Gavirate, Italy, in April.
It was the first time Lefroy had rowed competitively since university more than a decade ago.
“That was really exciting,” she said.
“We really had no idea where we sat in the field.
“The two really big players in the field, the US and Great Britain, weren’t there, unfortunately, but fortunately we won all our races and got a lot of confidence from that.”
Lefroy’s WA coach Catriona Walker said she was a natural rower who had just needed to work on her fitness.
“Davinia’s training really well and I think the whole crew’s coming together extremely well, so there’s still a little bit of time on their side to tweak but I would put them on a podium chance,” she said.
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Lefroy has cone rod dystrophy, which began when she was 11 years old.
She has lost most of her vision and has about 7 per cent of her peripheral remaining.
Under Paralympic rules she must wear blackout goggles.
“I focus a lot on the sounds that I can hear and feeling,” she said.
“The feel of the breeze around the body and anticipating what the movements are like in the boat from that.”
Being vision impaired has also meant relying on very understanding training partners who pick her up on the way to 5:00am rowing sessions four to five times a week on the Swan River.
On top of those sessions are weights and cardio which means the psychologist has to be extremely well organised.
“I like to do everything really well so I want to put as much effort into seeing clients and being a good psychologist as being a good athlete as well, and I try not to compromise either of those pursuits and that requires a lot of effort and a lot of time.”
The Paralympic Games commence on September 7.
