Scott 'struggled to get out of bed' with health issue

Hannah Scott will defend her title at the World Rowing Championships in Shanghai

Olympic champion Hannah Scott says she is targeting a gold medal at this week's World Rowing Championships after health issues delayed her return to the boat.

Scott, who has not competed since winning quadruple sculls gold for Great Britain at last year's Paris Games, returns in Sunday's Worlds heats (04:03 BST) in Shanghai alongside Becky Wilde, Lola Anderson and Sarah McKay.

While the Coleraine native had planned to return to racing earlier this year, she was forced to take more time out because of PoTS (postural tachycardia syndrome), which she was diagnosed with in the build-up to the Olympics.

PoTS is a condition that causes quick heart rate increases after getting up from sitting or lying down, with symptoms including dizziness or light-headedness, fainting, noticeable heartbeats, chest pain and shortness of breath.

"I got it in Olympic year which people don't know, and I kept that very quiet because it was incredibly stressful at the time," said 26-year-old Scott.

"They [the doctors] think it is post-Covid related and basically when I'd stand up, blood flow wouldn't go to my head. It just wouldn't go upward through my body."

Scott added: "It attacks my immune system and my nervous system and I can't pump blood around my body. It took us a while to figure out what was wrong with me, I had to go to numerous doctors and found one that said 'you've got PoTS'.

"From that, I had to do a lot of lying down exercise, a lot of lying on the floor on a bike, which looked crazy, and slowly getting my body to work for me again and get blood flowing around my body and it took a couple of months to come out of that.

"I got out of it and went on to Paris, it took me until March that year. I look back and I'm quite proud of myself for it because a lot of people maybe would have bottled it under that and thought 'I'm so ill, I can't do this', but that was part of me compartmentalising and blocking out the parts I needed to block out.

Having achieved a lifelong dream by becoming an Olympic champion, Scott struggled with PoTS again earlier this year.

"It makes you feel like your body doesn't work for you. Your health is your main concern, not rowing a boat," added Scott.

"I was wondering if I could do my day-to-day because I was struggling to get out of bed with fatigue and that's a really concerning place to be.

"But a lot of it I think is also part of female health and PoTS is a very common problem now post-Covid for women, and I've been learning this along the way."

'More to come from me'

In Scott's words, she climbed her "Everest" at last year's Olympics.

After taking time away to celebrate and recuperate, she made the decision to return to the sport with the target of the Los Angeles Olympics in 2028.

Finding the reason and willpower to go again proved challenging at first, but now Scott believes she is ready to tackle another Olympic cycle.

"Bringing it back to base camp again, that's maybe the thing I was dealing with earlier in the year of just trying to find that motivation again and where's that coming from?

"I actually do feel like I have found it, and I found it through the love of the sport again.

"This time, when I'm climbing the mountain the second time, I have a bit more of a guide of where I want to go and how to get there and that's one of the reasons that did bring me back because I think I learned so much through that cycle from Tokyo to Paris that I could make fewer mistakes again and it didn't turn out badly in Paris.

"I just want to enjoy it and see what happens this time because I still feel like there's a little bit more to come from me."

Becky Wilde, Lola Anderson, Hannah Scott and Sarah McKay will represent GB at world championships

Scott aiming for second world title

Scott won the quad sculls world title when it was last held in Belgrade two years ago alongside Lola Anderson, Georgie Brayshaw and Lauren Henry - and that quartet stayed together for last year's Olympic win.

Only Anderson returns to the boat alongside Scott for these championships with Olympic double sculls bronze medallist Becky Wilde and newcomer Sarah McKay forming a new look quad.

While Scott admits she will be "nervous" on the start line with a new look line-up, the targets don't change.

"I think we're trying to target to win it I think to make the final would be kind of beneath where we've been," she added.

"Obviously, you don't know what happens but just because it's a new crew doesn't mean that we're not ready to go after it at Worlds.

"I have the experience, Lola has the experience and so does Becky and then Sarah as well, we have the capability to do it."