Emma Twigg is feeling “pretty good” as her Olympic gold in the women’s singles sculls is starting to sink in, after an eventful journey to get there.
Twigg, who won New Zealand’s second gold in Tokyo, is currently completing her two weeks isolation while cheering on her fellow Kiwis and reflecting on her win.
“It feels pretty good. It’s a little bit surreal sitting in a hotel room and watching Lisa (Carrington) out on the same piece of water that we were dominating, I guess you could say, four days ago,” she said on SENZ’s Mornings with Ian Smith.
“It’s a pretty cool feeling and certainly sinking in.”
After finishing fourth in both London and Rio and quitting the sport for two years, it was a tough but easy decision to return to rowing.
“It was just a little something that was kind of niggling away at me and I’ve always believed I could be an Olympic champion,” she said.
“I knew that my previous Olympic experiences weren’t the best of me … so while it was a tough decision, it was also quite an easy one as well.”
The 32-year-old dreamed of becoming a Black Stick, but through family ties transitioned into rowing, a sport that “wasn’t love at first sight”.
“My dad coached my brother, so it was a little bit of a family affair (getting into the sport),” Twigg said.
“At the time I played hockey and obviously dreamed of becoming a Black Stick. Then found rowing and found that kind of suited my body type.
“It wasn’t love at first sight, but I got there in the end.”
Listen to SENZ live here!