Cdr Pete Reed OBE on rehab, life in a wheelchair, Hodgey and Race the Thames

Girl on the River

Ep.16 It's very apt that I should have the amazing Pete Reed on the show this week, as things are really ramping up for the Race the Thames challenge which starts on 22nd March. Pete is front and centre of the fundraising, alongside his former crewmate Andy Triggs Hodge (who I interviewed a few weeks ago here) with his Paravengers team.
For those who don't know him, Pete is a three-time Olympic rowing champion (and multiple World Champion), as well as a Commander in the Royal Navy. In 2019 he suffered a spinal stroke, out of the blue, which paralysed him from the waist down, and since then he's been in rehab.
He spoke extensively and candidly to Sir Matthew Pinsent about the stroke and life in the immediate aftermath in a brilliant BBC interview, which you can find on BBC Sounds, so I left that aspect of Pete's life in Matthew's capable hands. Instead, Pete and I chat about:

• Where he is now and life in rehab
• Developing an attitude to cope with change and uncertainty
• What Pete finds most difficult - managing people's expectations
• Whether a rowing coach or a rehab physio is a harder taskmaster
• How being an athlete prepared the way for his current challenges
• Strength of character - nature or nurture
• Life in a wheelchair - the dos and don'ts when you meet someone in a chair
• Photography and approaching people for portraits
• The progress of his rehab
• *GOTR exclusive* - his new role with the Royal Navy
• Building ethical fitness
• Rowing in a pair with Andrew Triggs Hodge
• Race the Thames

You can support Pete and his Paravengers crew in Race the Thames here.
The crowdfunder started by Andy Triggs Hodge to help Pete to afford basic adaptations and equipment is here.