The biggest high and the lowest low Phil Wilson ever felt in sport took place almost exactly three years apart.
Both times he was sitting in a long, thin carbon fibre boat and both times he was drenched in the sweat of extreme effort.
Phillip (fourth from right) and his team mates
In 2021, on the Seaforest Waterway in Tokyo, Phil joined an elite band of sportsmen and women when he won an Olympic gold medal as part of an eight-man coxed team.
It was instant elation.
Three years later, on the Stade Nautique in Paris, it was utter dejection, as he and his rowing mate failed to make the coxless pairs final, finishing seventh overall at the 2024 Olympics.
But he is determined to get up and go again, this time as a member of the 25th cohort to study the prestigious FIFA Master at De Montfort University Leicester (DMU).
And there is no doubt his career as an elite athlete will serve him well.
The one-year course, which is co-ordinated by the Centre International d'Etude du Sport (CIES) in Switzerland and is supported by football's world governing body FIFA, involves students dedicating a term of study at DMU's International Centre for Sports History and Culture (ICSHC) in the Humanities of Sport before also spending a term at both the SDA Bocconi School of Management in Milan, Italy, and Switzerland's University of Neuchâtel.
The FIFA Master is regarded as one of the world's best sports management courses and, last month, was named by Sports Business International as Europe's top ranked postgraduate sports management course for a record 12th time.
The New Zealand Eight and their cox celebrate winning Olympic gold
"Tokyo was pretty nuts", Phil says. "We (the New Zealand Eight rowing team) had the belief that we could win a medal. Even going into the final we were saying we could definitely win.
"But the Germans had only been beaten once since the Rio Olympics and were firm favourites. We stuck to our guns. We stuck to our race plan. With 500 metres to go, I realised we were in front.
"I was saying to myself 'do not be sorry for anything when you cross that finish line. Leave everything out there on the water. You are in a good position. Go and take it'.
"I vividly remember going across the line.
"Over on the other side of the lake there was a results board and it had already popped up that New Zealand had won.
"I felt shock then instant elation. The adrenaline kick is so huge when you have these moments.
"Eleven years I was rowing and I only ever dreamed about experiencing that. I was very much in the moment.
"You instantly start to celebrate with your crew mates. My teammate Shaun was in disbelief in front of me and he laid back into my lap and said, 'Where did we come?'. I said: 'You are an Olympic champion'."
Phillip on campus with his prized Tokyo Olympics gold medal
Cue Paris and the chance to win another gold medal.
"The finish in Paris was so different.
"My crew mate for the coxless pairs had been in the eight with me when we won gold. So, we had that expectation and believed we could do it again. We had belief and we had confidence.
"We had a really good race in our heat and got through to the semi-final.
"We had a plan for that race - but it just wasn't right for the day. We ended up finishing fourth, by half a second. We missed out on the final by 0.5 of a second.
"I felt utter dejection. Even now, two or three months after the event, it is still the lowest ever moment in sport for me.
"My friends and family were there and I felt like I had failed them. My thoughts turned into a 'what if…?' - but that is how sport goes. There is nothing you can do or change once something like that has happened.
"After the semi-final finish and all the emotions I experienced, I was really proud about how we ended our time at the Olympics. We lined up in the 'B' final and we raced the race we had wanted to in the semis and finished first. We lifted ourselves up, really attacked the race and it was a really proud moment.
"But it definitely takes a little time to reflect on what you have done and learn from it.
"It is like mistakes in life. If you do not learn from it what was the point of making the mistake in the first place. Every time there is a moment like this you have to get up and go again, improve and put yourself in a better position the next time.
"Keep working away and keep trying your best, then you will not have any regrets. The sun will always rise in the morning."
Phil has always been a competitive person. "I always wanted to beat my friends, no matter what".
He played at a decent level in rugby and football and then decided to try out for the college rowing team at the age of 13.
After a couple of years Phil's talent was being noticed.
"I think it was that competitive drive and determination I had, and I wanted to push further and further.
"I had made representative teams in football and rugby and wanted to see what I was like in rowing.
"The coaches were always trying to push me and make me the best possible version of myself. After a couple of years, the potential was really there."
Phil had been thinking of taking a year out and it was a previous FIFA Master student - another gold medal-winning Olympic rower, Emma Twigg, who had studied at DMU in 2014 - that recommended the course.
"Emma is an amazing human," he said. "So many people look up to her. What she has been able to achieve and the levels of determination is amazing.
"I had heard about Leicester due to the different clubs competing in the Henley Regatta and, of course, there are the Leicester Tigers and also Leicester City winning the Premier League in 2016. A lot of sports stuff is happening in Leicester.
"Before I got here I did not want to set my expectations too high, but walking around the campus and around Leicester…it's a great city.
"It has been really interesting so far and I am enjoying it a lot. It is a great foundation, being present minded and future-focused.
"My idea of coming into the FIFA Master is to look at how sports administration, governing and management work and then maybe take that knowledge back to organisations and federations in New Zealand. Or I could stay in Europe."
And re-joining the elite in competitive rowing is definitely still on the agenda.
"I am 27 and going into my prime now so I am not retired. I am taking a break. I am at a juncture in my life and the FIFA Master course is a one-time opportunity not to be missed. The timing felt right."
Posted on Wednesday 30 October 2024