Two years ago, a study by Women in Sport found that more than one million teenage girls who once considered themselves ‘sporty’, disengage from sport following primary school. Reasons for the drop off include fear of judgement, a lack of confidence and safety, as well as the pressures of school work. According to two-time Olympic champion Joanna Rowsell, it doesn’t have to be this way.
“I feel lucky that I went through the Talent ID programme when I did. I got Talent ID’d as a teenager, and I was at that point where I was probably just starting to disengage with sports, as many teenage girls do,” the Briton remembers. “I felt really lucky that I got a program to come along and sweep me up and tell me I could be an Olympian. I also realise that most people won’t have that. Still, a huge number of teenage girls do drop out in sport, and it’s a really big problem. Any little bit we can do to try and make a difference to that is really important.”
Since her retirement from elite racing, Rowsell has dedicated her life to ensuring that the next generation of girls have the opportunities to experience what sport has to offer. She has taken up a role as Partnerships and Community Manager at Women in Sport, believing that she can play an integral part in reducing that percentage of people who believe that sport isn’t the place for them.
“It’s really interesting seeing a different side of things because I often see a lot of the positives. People come to me with positive stories of having watched me in London, and been inspired, and that’s really lovely to hear,” Rowsell says. “But I also know there’s still a lot of work to be done, so I do feel proud of the legacy, but also very keen to try and keep that going and keep that momentum and keep driving it forward.”
When glancing through Rowsell’s career results, it’s no surprise that she has managed to inspire people to get involved in cycling. The 35-year-old won gold medals in the women’s team pursuit at the 2012 London Olympics and the 2016 Rio Olympics and she also has five World Championship titles, four in the team pursuit (2008, 2009, 2012 and 2014) plus one in the individual pursuit at the 2014 World Championships.
“Both Olympic medals are really special. I think Rio was tougher as defending an Olympic title was a lot harder than I thought it would be. I always just presumed to go into my second Games, everything would be easy, but you’ve got a lot more…