Lia Hermelink '26 Recruiting Profile

Hello, my name is Lia Hermelink and I am part of the J17 Rowing Team for Lady Eleanor Holles School. I am currently studying A Level Maths, Chemistry and Politics as well as completing an Extended Project Qualification about nutrition in female athletes. I aspire to achieve the highest grade possible (A*) in all these subjects.

My current 2k is score is 8:15 (11th May 2024) and my 5k score is 21:45 (30th January 2024). I am unhappy with these results and am working towards lowering these to a sub 8:00 2k and sub 21:00 for my 5k as one of my main goals for this season. This will be a challenge for me as I am quite a small rower however I am determined to achieve both these goals.  

One of the main reasons why I row and arguably the most important is that I thoroughly enjoy it, the friendships, the constantly improving fitness as well as the continuing challenge it provides me. I have been able to push myself to new limits that I had not thought capable before I began to row and this in itself is very valuable. Additionally, it has allowed me to connect with people of varying ages that all share a common interest with me, trying to make a boat move as fast as possible. This has allowed me to build strong friendships which have made my time at school and rowing so far very enjoyable. Finally, rowing has taught me many valuable skills that I will be able to take with me throughout my education and career including, teamwork, leadership and time management. These skills have already been vital throughout my time at school as I was able to balance my workload during the GCSE exams whilst also rowing where I achieved the highest possible grade in all 11 subjects. As well as this I have been able to work as a team as part of the school eco squad this year leading the school in striving to be more eco friendly.

I hope that you will consider my profile carefully and I hope to hear from as many of you as possible, 

Lia Hermelink