01 April 2020

Rower Victoria Thornley says she has 'fire in her belly' ahead of delayed Olympics next summer

Welsh rower Victoria Thornley says she still has "fire in her belly" despite the Tokyo Games being rescheduled for next summer. 

The Games will now begin on July 23 and finish on August 8 after they were postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic. 

"My body's in a good place and I've still got a lot of motivation and plenty of fire in my belly," she told BBC Sport.

And the 32 year-old is preparing for what will be her third Games after she won silver in the double sculls alongside Katherine Grainger at Rio 2016. 

She became the first Welsh woman to win an Olympic rowing medal and is aiming to repeat her success.

She said: "I'm going there to win a medal and I've got a lot of drive to do that. The Olympics is very much in the forefront of my mind every day."

But with the Games taking place a year later, it hasn't affected her mindset but she is aware extending training for another a year will have an 'emotional toll'.

The 2017 single sculls European Champion added: "The main thing is the Olympics is still happening. A year is a decent amount of time, but it's not forever and now I know what I'm aiming for.

"There are opportunities in having an extra year. There are things I may have done differently this winter and rarely do you have a second chance to do it again. I see it as an opportunity. Now we're doing an extra 25% of that four year cycle, mentally it might be quite taxing.

"Your body will hold up well, but mentally you need to decompress before you start ramping it. You just have to be aware it's an emotional toll."

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