Rower Debbie Flood 30 years old who lives in Henley and she won a silver medal in the woman's quadruple scull. Now she is targeting the 2012 London Olympics after taking a year off from the sport to qualify as a prison officer.
She told BBC Berkshire: "A year out was fantastic and entirely what I required.
"But I want to prove I am capable of the standard needed to make the team so I'm hopeful I can be in the quad."
Flood added: "In my year off, I did perhaps one session every other day rather than the usual three a day.
"This made a big difference. I came back into rowing and thought I was fit and strong but I realised it is all relative to what you need to be for Olympic standards."
Flood, a world champion in 2006 and 2007, has entered various events since returning to full time rowing to improve her performance and fitness.
Flood said, "There was a really big gap between me and the other rowers. In the 2010 I started off World Cup series and came ninth which was a starting place for me. Then I increased my speed throughout the season and trained more and ended up in Lucerne where I made the 'A' final after coming fifth, which was a really nice result for me."
