Katherine visits Saracens Rugby Club

Katherine took time out from her PhD today to visit the Saracens squad at their training ground in St Albans ahead of the teams crucial match against Harlequins on Sunday.

As part of the Saracens Player Development Programme Speaker Series, Grainger discussed her career and what it takes to be a sportswoman at the highest level. She told the players how the emotional and technical lessons learned after the disappointment of only winning silver in the Beijing games in 2008 spurred her on to victory in last summer’s London games.

Katherine talked through the lessons learned throughout her career and how the attention to detail and hours spent training for success ended in moments like those witnessed on the regatta at Eton Dorney.

She also explained how teamwork, overcoming challenges, motivation, winning, communication and dealing with the pressure of expectation all peaked at that moment last summer.

Previous sports stars who have shared their experiences with the players as part of the PDP Speaker Series include former F1 world champion Sir Jackie Stewart, England cricket captain Andrew Strauss along with 200m and 400m Olympic gold medallist Michael Johnson.

For more information on the club including upcoming fixtures click here