TASMANIA’S latest Olympian Meaghan Volker is hoping a historic link to her home state can assist her 11th-hour call-up to the Rio de Janeiro Games.
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The Australian women’s eight crew which has been handed an Olympic berth following Russia’s disqualification is being assisted by Bill Tait who also oversaw Tasmania’s best result at the last Games in London.
Tait coached the women’s pair of his wife Sarah and Hobart’s Kate Hornsey to a silver medal in 2012 and Volker is hoping his influence can again pay dividends.
“It’s been great having Bill on board and to have that connection,” she said.
“It's great to know we have someone who has coached a Tasmanian to that level and to know that’s what I’m carrying on.”
Volker, 25, of Hobart’s Buckingham club, said it had been a “surreal” few days as her crew resumed training in Melbourne to await the decision of rowing’s governing body FISA.
“It’s been a pretty crazy road so it’s nice to finally know and we’re all ecstatic,” she said.
“We know it’s going to be really tough in Rio because there are some very strong crews out there. But we know if we can lay down our best effort we can challenge.”
Also featuring five Victorians, two South Australians and a Western Australian, the women’s eight crew is scheduled to fly into Rio on August 5 and race on August 8.
Like Volker’s fellow Tasmanian Kerry Hore and her quad scull crewmates, the women’s eight will feature seven crews with one to be eliminated in the repechage before six contest the final.
Volker’s inclusion takes the number of Tasmanian Institute of Sport athletes in Rio to nine, plus Launceston-born trio Milly Clark (marathon), Chris Goulding (basketball) and Scott Keach (equestrianism).
TIS director Paul Austen said: “Notwithstanding the circumstances of the selection, it’s a fantastic result for Meaghan after all the hard work she and that crew have put in.”
Rowing Australia welcomed the FISA decision to offer Australia a spot after the Russian crew was deemed ineligible due to a previous doping conviction against Anastasia Karabelshchikova.
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