Following her gold-medal triumph at the Paris Olympics, British rower Imogen Grant faced a major career crossroads. With lightweight rowing being removed from the upcoming Olympic program, her primary discipline was disappearing. Initially returning to her medical career, she considered retirement before the atmosphere of the Paris Games inspired her to pursue another Olympic cycle.
Targeting the Los Angeles 2028 Games required a complete physical transformation. Standing five feet six inches tall, Grant decided to transition into open-weight rowing rather than walk away from the sport. This shift meant moving away from a division where she and her partner maintained a strict average weight limit of 57 kilograms.
In open-weight competition, she faces opponents who typically stand several inches taller and weigh around 20 kilograms more. Because physical size often translates to raw power on the water, the thirty-year-old athlete knew she needed to increase her mass. She admitted that the prospect of competing against much larger athletes felt daunting at first.
Grant acknowledged that she will likely never be the strongest athlete in the boat. However, she relies heavily on the elite technique and efficiency she developed during her years as a top-tier lightweight competitor. She emphasizes that rowing success depends on more than sheer muscle, pointing to boat synergy and hydrodynamic movement as critical factors.
Her physical evolution has also required a complete overhaul of her dietary habits. As a lightweight athlete, her nutrition centered around strict weight management alongside performance fueling. Now, she focuses on increasing her mass and building strength without the constraint of a target limit.
Fueling this growth brings an additional layer of complexity because Grant follows a strict vegan diet, driven by her commitment to environmental sustainability. To meet the immense energy demands of an endurance athlete, she consumes between 3,500 and 4,000 calories daily during heavy training blocks. Her diet relies on carbohydrate-dense meals, supplemented with protein sources such as tofu, beans, chickpeas, and plant-based protein shakes.
Grant prefers to keep her diet separate from her athletic achievements, hoping to quietly demonstrate what is possible on a plant-based lifestyle rather than preach to others. Balancing her rigorous training schedule with her ongoing medical work, she reports that her new approach is yielding positive results. Now heavier, larger, and stronger than before, she is currently training with the British women's quadruple sculls squad as she works toward her goal of competing in Los Angeles.
Reporting based on coverage first published by BBC Sport. Read the original report at BBC Sport.
