Olympic champion Hannah Scott opens up on difficult times ahead of World Rowing Championships in Amsterdam
Olympic champion Hannah Scott has opened up on her difficulties away from the sport as she has her eyes set on a second world title in the Netherlands this week.
The Coleraine athlete will compete in the women's quad sculls alongside fellow Northern Ireland rower Finnola Stratton as well as Imogen Grant and Lola Anderson.
Scott claimed gold at the same event in Belgrade back in 2023 and was runner-up last year to the Netherlands.
Whilst enjoying training and preparation for the event, Scott admits personal circumstances in recent times has been difficult.
She told BBC Sport NI: "In my personal life, I've had my hiccups and ups and downs. My life was turned upside down at Christmas time, when I went through a serious breakup and I've had to manage that.
"But in terms of my life in the boat and training, I've managed to keep that all going this year and it shows in terms of my performances.
"That was the one thing I was really stubborn about. I wasn't going to let anything happening in my personal life impact my rowing and my career which I've put so much work towards.
"I actually didn't share a lot of what was going on at Christmas time, because I knew everyone in the boat would probably then be worried about what was happening.
"It's easier to try and find your support systems where you can with your family and your friends, and then keep your performance separate, because when you bring too much emotion into it, even happy emotion, I do think it can sometimes distract you from what you're trying to do."
The World Championships is set to be a competitive affair in Amsterdam as Scott’s Great Britain four come up against hosts Netherlands, Germany and Switzerland.
Great Britain are involved in the heats on Tuesday against Poland, New Zealand, Canada and Romania.
"The event itself is starting to stack up, and that's where I'm excited to see where we land on it, because, with everyone else that's improving, I think we've seen a massive breakthrough, is how I would describe it, in the past five weeks and what we've done in our crew," she added.
"I want to see where that lands and how that lands and hopefully we can display that in what's going to be an amazing event.”