A JOURNEY TO JOY Words by Sian Fremaux
EDITOR AND COMMUNICATIONS MANAGER
EVE MACFARLANE • OLYMPIAN
Old Girl, Eve Macfarlane, (Boarder 2006 to 2010) is a go getter. A natural athlete during her time at Rangi, she participated in many sports including netball, basketball, athletics, volleyball, touch and cross country. However, it is her meteoric rise in the sport of Rowing that has seen her compete on the world stage; a sport she only took up in Year 12. After three World Rowing Champs and two Olympics Games, Eve took a two-year break from rowing and went through a remarkable personal journey that has led to her becoming an author. She is also a Yoga Teacher, Massage Therapist, Artist, is currently studying permaculture and is again returning to the international scene as a member of the NZ Women’s Squad aiming for the Tokyo Olympics. As busy as she is, we were lucky enough to squeeze in some time with her to ask a few questions about all of the above and more: Eve, you picked up the sport of Rowing at Rangi, what lessons did you learn early on that have helped you in your career in the long run? Rowing at Rangi, I learnt the power of a team spirit, which still actually applies at the top level of the sport. At Rangi, we always had fun, encouraged each other, and built each other up. For me nowadays it is more important than ever to carry that through. When the pressure at the top end builds, I believe it is key to have that team spirit no matter what, to enjoy it and boost teammates up. “Are we having fun because we are going fast? Or are we going fast because we are having fun?” After the last Olympics you took some time off and during this period of time you were also diagnosed with depression, could you tell us a little bit about this time and your journey with your diagnosis? After the 2016 Olympic Games, my body and mind needed rest, so I listened to these signs and I took time away from the sport. During this time I fell into a post-Olympic void, I became extremely lazy with low energy, I lost all motivation, I didn’t even want to go outside, see people or do the things that I knew I loved, simply put, I was sad. I visited the doctor to see what was going on and that’s when I was diagnosed with depression. It took me a while to accept the diagnosis but the sooner I did the better. The first step was telling close friends/family, talking with a counsellor and then I slowly started to put focus into helping myself and made positive changes towards my wellbeing.
