Athlete Spotlight: Becky Coleman
Just a year ago, Becky Coleman had never picked up an oar. Now, she’s preparing to take on one of rowing’s most famous stretches of water (The Boat Race Championship Course) in a challenge driven by resilience, determination, and a desire to make the sport more accessible.
For Becky, rowing has become part of a wider journey of recovery, community and rediscovery, and now she hopes her story might encourage others to get out on the water too. “I actually started rowing about a year ago,” she says. “I hadn’t tried it before, but I needed something that would help me get active again and rebuild some of the cognitive and neurological functions I’d lost after sepsis.”
Two years earlier, Becky had suffered a life-threatening infection that left her having to relearn aspects of speech, coordination and concentration. Already a wheelchair user due to underlying spinal and genetic conditions, she turned to rowing as part of her rehabilitation. “The process of getting out on the water and learning the stroke definitely helped with my recovery,” she says. “It gave me something really positive to focus on.”
Her first time rowing on the Thames came just a couple of days before the 2025 Boat Race, on a hot day in London. “That was at Fulham Reach Boat Club, near Hammersmith Bridge. From there, it just grew,” Becky recalls.
Since then, Fulham Reach Boat Club has played a huge role in her progress. After spotting a ‘Learn to Row’ poster outside the boathouse, Becky went in to ask if there might be a way for her to try the sport. “The adaptive seat was actually sitting on the shelf waiting to be used,” she says. “It hadn’t been used before, so I became the first person at the club to row with it.”
From that point on, the club's support has been crucial. Becky now trains regularly with coach Denise, whose experience with adaptive sport and equipment has helped find the right setup. “Denise has been fantastic,” Becky says. “She understands how to adapt equipment and technique for different disabilities.”
Becky has always been someone who enjoys pushing herself. Before discovering rowing, she competed internationally in wheelchair tennis, often facing male opponents due to the sport’s classification rules. “That probably made me a bit more competitive than normal,” she laughs. “I’ve always liked setting myself a challenge and seeing if I can achieve it.”
Now she’s preparing for her biggest challenge yet: rowing the full Boat Race Championship Course from Putney Bridge to Chiswick Bridge. The attempt will take place on 2 April (two days before The Boat Race itself) with Becky representing Fulham Reach Boat Club while raising money for both the club and the UK Sepsis Trust, the charity that supported her during recovery. “I just want to take on the challenge and prove it’s possible,” she says. “If I can complete the course rowing arms-only, that would be an amazing milestone.”
A key part of Becky’s setup is the WinTech Carbon Adaptive Seat which she uses on the boat. The seat provides the stability and back support she needs to row using only her arms. “Without that seat, I wouldn’t be able to train or compete at all,” Becky explains. “It’s absolutely essential for me to be able to get out on the water.”
The seat also offers the club useful flexibility. It can be installed or removed quickly, meaning the same boat can be used for adaptive rowing sessions and standard crews. It can also be mounted onto an erg, allowing Becky to keep training indoors when conditions on the Thames aren’t ideal – something that has been particularly useful in recent weeks.
“It’s really helpful for a club environment,” she says. “You can swap it in for my sessions and then switch back to sliding seats for other rowers. That interchangeability makes a big difference because it means I can train both on the water and on the erg using the same setup.”
“WinTech’s range of boats such as the Trainer 2x+ & Odyssey 4x+ as well as stabilising pontoons make up the backbone of Fulham Reach Boat Clubs accessible rowing fleet,” commented Fulham Reach CEO, Adam Freeman-Pask. “At Fulham Reach we are proud to be launching accessible rowing and environmental activities this April so do get in touch if you would like to find out more or get involved.”
As Becky prepares to take on the Tideway, the challenge represents far more than just one row. It marks the culmination of a year of learning, recovery and determination – and the start of what she hopes will be a much longer journey in the sport.
“If this helps show that rowing is accessible and encourages even one more person with a disability to give it a go,” she says, “then it will have been completely worth it.”
Donations for The UK Sepsis Trust & Fulham Reach Boat Club
Please consider supporting this incredible fundraising effort by making a donation today. Every contribution, no matter the size, helps make a real difference to these two amazing charities. Your generosity will go a long way in helping reach the fundraising goal and creating a meaningful impact—if you’re able to give, it would be hugely appreciated.
https://donate.giveasyoulive.com/fundraising/boat-race-becky
WinTech Adaptive Boats & Accessories
WinTech Racing has long been at the forefront of innovation in inclusive rowing, becoming one of the first manufacturers to introduce dedicated adaptive (para) rowing boats to the global market. This pioneering work played a key role in supporting the growth of adaptive rowing in the lead-up to the 2008 Beijing Paralympic Games, where rowing made its debut as a Paralympic sport. By developing stable, high-performance shells tailored to a range of physical abilities, WinTech helped enable more athletes to access competitive rowing and contributed to the sport’s successful introduction on the world stage.