From running Rowing NZ's office to rowing at the world champs - it's been a wild six months for Rachael Kennedy, joining forces with reigning world titleholder Jackie Kiddle in the lightweight double sculls.
Jackie Kiddle and Rachael Kennedy began their "Paris Project" in March.
New Zealand’s new lightweight double sculls pairing have only been racing together for six months, but are now on their way to the Czech Republic for the world rowing championships this month. Their end goal is the Paris Olympics in 2024.
Kiddle is the reigning world champ, winning gold with Zoe McBride the last time the regatta was held in 2019. But she was left searching for a new lightweight partner after McBride stepped away from the sport in 2021.
In jumped 31-year-old Kennedy, the office manager at Rowing NZ based on the edge of Lake Karāpiro, stepping up to her first elite campaign.
Kiddle, 28, has been involved in international regattas since age group level - winning two medals in the U23 world championships in the lightweight double sculls, and a silver in the seniors in 2017.
“I’ve been in quite a few boats with quite a few different people,” Kiddle says. But she had the feeling the combination with Kennedy had potential from their first row.
“It’s got a lot to go but it’s also come a long way. It’s been good fun; great fun," she says.
Despite the massive step-up, Kennedy is enjoying her time in the boat. “It’s been huge. There’s been so much learning but it’s been really awesome. It’s fun; it’s hard,” she says.
The 2024 Paris Olympics might still seem like a while away, but for Kennedy, it’s a tight turnaround. She wasn’t even rowing when New Zealand went Covid first hit in 2020 - training for a half Ironman instead.
Kennedy has a long background in the sport. She rowed while studying for a PE degree at the University of Otago, and competed in eights and lightweight sculls at university regattas around the globe. But it wasn't really serious, she says.
When the first lockdown started, Kennedy realised she couldn’t train for the swim leg, so hopped on her Zwift stationary bike and dusted off the rowing erg in her garage. Then she thought she might as well row the summer season - back on the water - and she kept going from there.
Kiddle had been searching for a new lightweight partner. Early last year, McBride decided to finish her career for her wellbeing, after a long battle with the debilitating RED-S. But it meant Kiddle had to give up her campaign for gold at the Tokyo Olympics.
Then Kennedy decided to give elite rowing a real shot, and the pair clicked.
Kennedy and Kiddle complement each other well, and credit their developing success on the boat to their relationship off the water.
“I always think the best rowing combinations are the ones who are good friends, but aren’t in each other’s pockets," Kiddle says. "We’re independent people and that’s really key to a good combination.
“But as a crew, we gel really well together, we work well, and we have a good laugh. And it feels like a really good combination because of that.”
Honesty has been pivotal, too, Kennedy points out. “We’ll both be honest whenever we need to be, which I think is super key. We also won’t ever take anything too seriously, there’s always room for a giggle.”
Jackie Kiddle and dog Molly
Another thing very important for the duo is finding the balance between rowing and their other passions.
Alongside working - now part-time - at the Rowing NZ office, Kennedy is doing a make-up artistry course funded by a Prime Minister’s Scholarship - a way to escape from rowing and use her creative brain.
Kiddle also has an eye for the arts. After finishing a Bachelor of Science in animal behaviour and a Master of Science (research) in ecology and biodiversity, she wanted to find a different outlet.
An animal lover since she was young, Kiddle has her own animal photography business, capturing images of mainly dogs and horses (she has a Dalmatian and a mare), but works with all animals and owners too.
She took up an invitation to take photos at the World Rowing Cup II in Poland in June, a stint on the other side of the starting blocks for once.
“When I was asked, I said ‘You do know I mostly take photos of animals right?’” she laughs. “I haven’t done many people, but it was really cool; a steep learning curve.”
While she was asking other rowing photographers for advice, they were also asking questions of her, picking the brain of someone who understands race day nerves.
“At the start line, the crews would come into the starting blocks, see me, and I’d see their faces kind of light up,” Kiddle recalls. She was slightly nervous - especially as her partner, Kiwi rower Matt Dunham, was competing (he won gold in the men's lightweight double sculls).
“But I’d definitely rather be competing - you have a bit more control over how it’s going.”
Kiddle and Kennedy have only competed in two regattas together - the Henley Royal Regatta in July and the World Cup III. The latter event was the first time since 2019 a New Zealand women’s lightweight boat competed in an international event.
They placed third in the B final, their first step on the path to Paris, a result they’re not worried about yet.
“They were learning curves, for me," says Kennedy. "It’s my first elite campaign so seeing the level that’s out there is insane. Everyone is really, really fast.
The standard hasn't dropped in the last three years, which Kiddle expected. “We’re going out racing the world’s best and you wouldn’t want it any other way," she says.
“It was really good for us to go and get a benchmark, to see where we actually fit in that field; what we have to work on, what we’ve got to do to make the next step up.”
While Kennedy was rediscovering her old rowing muscles on the erg over Covid lockdown, Kiddle was also busy on her erg - setting a world indoor record in 2020 for lightweight women over 5000m.
“A lot of countries overseas will have periods of time where they can’t train on the water, so they do a lot of erg training," Kiddle explains. "We don’t have that, we're very lucky we can train on Karāpiro the whole time.
“But it meant when we went into lockdown, it was new ground for us. We hadn’t done a lot of erg training, so it was a challenge to be able to back up sessions indoors instead of having the ability to go out every day.
“Having said that, we got into some pretty hard training and we got some good gains. So we definitely learnt a lot from lockdown, and the mental ability to be able to get back on something that you don’t want to be doing.”
The duo flew out of New Zealand on Saturday, heading to Italy first before making their way to the Czech Republic for the world rowing championships, which begin on September 18.
“Our goal is to go over there and be as fast as we possibly can be," Kennedy says. "Just put down a really good performance ourselves and have a good race, put it all out there."
Kiddle agrees. “Every time you can line up against the rest of the lightweights in the world is an amazing opportunity, especially leading up to our goal of Paris. So to be able to have that opportunity again and again and again is just invaluable.
“We don’t need to be at the top of our game now. Paris is the target and we’ve got to develop the boat and the squad to get to Paris. So it’s all stepping stones to try and get closer to that goal.
“It’s about lining up against the best in the world, putting our best foot forward and answering the question of ‘What have you got?’”
