Sophie Hosking has described the moment she saw her Olympic Great Britain kit as a dream come true.
The London Rowing Club member had her Olympic place rubberstamped by the British Olympic Association last Wednesday, when she was named in Team GB’s lightweight women’s double scull boat with Kat Copeland.
Having missed out on the Olympics in 2008, it will be the 26-year-old’s first Games and, although her inclusion in the team had been likely for some time, the 2011 World Championship bronze medallist admitted it only became real once she got given her national kit.
“When you are in day-to-day training you don’t always see the bigger picture,” she said.
“But, when we got the Team GB kit out of our bags and saw the Olympic rings, it dawned on us that, without wanting to use a cliche, dreams come true.
“All these things are exciting but we still have to keep our training to the standard it should be, keep very process focussed and plan for Munich.
“We will enjoy it while we can but we cannot lose track of why we’re doing it.”
Hosking and Copeland will continue to develop their partnership at the final World Cup regatta of the year in Munich this weekend.
Putney-based London Rowing Club have three members in total at the Olympics – with Bill Lucas, in the men’s double scull with Sam Townsend, and Rob Williams, who is the men’s lightweight four boat with Peter Chambers, Richard Chambers and Chris Bartley, joining Hosking in Team GB.
Putney-based Matt Wells and Phelan Hill will also be in Olympic action on Dorney Lake in Eton, with Wells in the men’s quadruple scull and Hill coxing the men’s eight.
The eight are the only boat not to have been fully selected, with the final spot still undecided going into the World Cup where they will try to overhaul perennial rivals Germany.
“It’s been frustrating not to have a settled line up,” said Hill.
“But we’ve got another dry run in Munich which gives us two opportunities to race Germany again.”
London Rowing Club’s Imogen Walsh is not in the Olympic team, but will race in a second lightweight women’s double scull boat in Munich this weekend.
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