Last month, Shakira Mirfin, 21, won a silver medal for New Zealand at the 2023 World Rowing Under-23 Championships in Plovdiv, Bulgaria.
She competed along with team-mates Lucy Burrell, Rebecca Leigh, Alice Fahey and Ella Greenslade.
Speaking to the Southland Express last week, Mirfin said she felt very pleased and honoured with such an achievement.
"I felt very proud for my team and everyone involved to come away with second.
"We all put a lot of work in — on and off the water — so to come away with second [place] was pretty awesome."
The team had put in a lot of effort and hard work to get their results, she said.
Leading up to the race, there was a lot of preparation as the team had to adapt to each other and get used to a new climate.
They had to learn how each other liked to prepare for racing and blend it together, Mirfin said.
"The biggest learning is how to be adaptable with new people in a new environment as that is the most important thing to make a boat move.
"You have to be willing to sacrifice some things for the whole boat."
The hot weather was also a challenge and something they had to learn to adapt to.
As it was summer in Bulgaria, they had to row in 32-35°C heat.
"We did a lot of preparation to keep cool during warm up and on the water.
"[The] challenges were getting used to the heat and being able to prepare at my best in heat I wasn’t used to."
Mirfin had been competing in rowing since she was 14 and it was a sport her family was involved in — her brother and sister also row.
A former Southland Girls’ High School pupil and member of the Invercargill Rowing Club, she said her family and community had always been behind her and she felt blessed for all the support she got.
"I am very proud to be bringing a medal home, my community and supporters are the only reason I was able to achieve what I had so I am very grateful to bring a medal back to Southland.
"Invercargill Rowing Club, Academy Southland, my parents and many other people have helped me along the way and I am very grateful for that."
After enjoying a couple of days off in the United States, she was back in Southland where she would start the preparation for next year’s competition as she would still be eligible for the under-23 competition for another year.
However, she admitted her final goal was to represent her country on an even more important international stage.
"I hope to compete at the 2028 Olympics — that would be my dream."
