Flood has faith in third time lucky

Indeed, double Olympic silver medallist in the quad sculls is only half the story.

For this devoted Yorkshirewoman is also a motivational speaker, a devout Christian and a former prison guard.

The former is Flood’s way of giving back to the community. Her religion consumes and drives her, and her time guarding inmates offered the 31-year-old a huge dose of reality.

“I’m not one for an easy life,” she says, matter-of-factly.

“I do tend to be quite a busy person.”

Flood’s spell on the right side of the bars in the British penal system came after Beijing, when she finished runner-up for the second successive Olympics.

“It was a mental challenge and very full-on,” she says of the 18-month stint.

“It really is a tough job because there are so many facets to it; security, instilling discipline, and also giving guidance to people.

“It was a challenge but something I wanted to do and something I will go into when I finish rowing after London.

“I’m glad I took the time out, because prior to that it had been 11 straight years of rowing.”

And the motivational speaking in schools and to businesses?

“It’s really important to put back into sport and life,” adds Flood.

“So many people have helped me.

“I teach kids that life isn’t always easy. My faith in Christianity is something that drives that as well.”

Her faith in her own ability was tested on her return to competitive rowing following a sabbatical from the sport she turned to after trying judo, cross-country running and the shot put.

“Coming back after working full-time wasn’t as easy as I thought it would be,” she says.

“I thought to myself it would be easy to keep fit during those 18 months and I’ll just pop back and go straight back into my chosen boat.

“But when you’re training two or three times a day you realise what you’ve missed.

“You have to train full-time for the Olympics and be committed to it fully.

“I didn’t do very well when I first returned in the Spring of 2010, but fortunately the World Chamnpionships were not until November in New Zealand and I got back into the team and we won gold.”

That was Flood’s third world title, but it is the big prize to have thus far eluded her that drives her now as she approaches the final 100m of her rowing career.

Flood says: “2010 was a fantastic experience which made 2011 all the more harder because we didn’t medal.

“Having missed out in the worlds last year gives you extra motivation to put that right this year.

“We only have one aim at London 2012, the gold medal. And we will be disappointed if we don’t get it.

“I’ve won two silvers, and had different emotions on both occasions.

“Winning my first Olympic medal in Athens was a fantastic experience. It was my first medal at a senior international championships as well so it was a massively proud moment.

“Then we spent the next four years aiming to win gold. We won the world championships in 2005, ’06 and ’07 and led the Olympic final for six minutes and 20 seconds.

“The Chinese overtook us and won. It was heartbreaking.

“We were disappointed but you can also be extremely proud because we couldn’t have done any more. China were just faster than us on the day.”

Flood is one of six women vying to represent Britain at Eton Dorney this summer in the women’s quad.

“It makes it a strange environment,” she says of the Caversham training ground in Berkshire that is the British squad’s home.

“For seven months we compete against each other for our places.We are a really good team, we do encourage each other because we want to be the best in the world.

“That’s what drives us. We also have massive respect for one another; how hard we train and how hard we work.”

Before London, Flood and the British team will contest three regattas in Europe that will serve as the ultimate warm-up for the main event. If she fails to seal a place in the quad, the women’s eight is a fallback option.

But for a driven individual who has tasted success at everything she has turned her mind to, failure is not only unlikely, but also not an option.