Ever wondered what it takes to power a carbon fibre boat down a 2000-metre course in the pursuit of Olympic glory?

In the lead-up to the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games, Australia’s top rowers have been taking advantage of the Australian Institute of Sport (AIS) European Training Centre, situated on the shores of Lake Varese in the Province of Varese in Northern Italy.

Rowing Australia squads, including a men’s eight crew, have spent plenty of time on the lake over the past year as part of their Olympic and Paralympic-focused training and competition schedule.

The Australian Sports Commission (ASC) was lucky enough to capture the excitement and drama on video as the crew rowed Lake Varese, with cox Toby Lister driving them hard in the pursuit of success.

Rowing Australia will utilise the AIS European Training Centre again in June 2012 for the two weeks between World Cups 2 and 3, as well as for the five weeks preceding the London Games.

The AIS European Training Centre offers our top athletes and sports access to Australia’s leading sports science and sports medicine staff, outstanding services and facilities, not to mention a stunning lake for training.

For a sport such as rowing, transporting boats and equipment around the world is an expensive operation. To reduce this financial burden the AIS European Training Centre offers permanent storage facilities to Australian sports, and this has resulted in Australian Rowing permanently storing a large number of training and competition boats at the centre.

Rowing Australia Chief Executive Andrew Dee praised the importance of the AIS European Training Centre for the Australian rowing team.

‘The AIS European Training Centre has become a focal point for our team overseas and a contributing factor to our success internationally last year,’ Dee said.

‘The athletes treat the centre like a home away from home and quickly adapted to all the excellent facilities on offer in the heart of Europe.

‘In 2012 it will once again serve an important role for our team as they prepare for the World Cup regattas, as well as the Olympic and Paralympic Games.’

The ASC is featuring regular athlete interviews and profiles of sports using the AIS European Training Centre in the lead-up to the London Olympic and Paralympic Games.

More information on the AIS European Training Centre can be found on the Australian Sports Commission website.