A nurse from The Clatterbridge Cancer Centre NHS Foundation Trust in Liverpool is celebrating after winning a gold medal on her debut for Great Britain in the European Rowing Championships 2025 in Plovdiv in Bulgaria (Sunday 2nd June).
Associate clinical nurse specialist in upper gastrointestinal cancer Sarah McKay and her teammates delivered an incredible performance in the women’s quadruple sculls beating Germany in silver and The Netherlands in bronze with a time of 6 minutes 11 seconds.
It was the dream of a lifetime for Sarah, who is currently taking a sabbatical from her nursing career.
And, unbelievably, she only took up the sport nine years ago on a whim in her first week as a nursing student while browsing the stalls at the University of Liverpool freshers fair.
“I ran at school,” says Sarah, “so I was looking for the running club in the ‘Rs’ at the freshers fair but couldn’t see it there. Instead, I came across the rowing club and decided to sign up because my friends at Manchester Uni were rowing and I thought it would be fun to compete against them.”
Sarah, who is originally from Stockport, quickly fell in love with the sport as she trained with university friends on the River Weaver at Runcorn.
After graduating, she began her nursing career and joined The Clatterbridge Cancer Centre around five years ago caring for patients who needed urgent or emergency cancer care in the hospital’s Clinical Decisions Unit (CDU). She has since trained to become an associate clinical nurse specialist (CNS) supporting patients with upper gastrointestinal cancers such as oesophageal cancer and stomach cancer.
Rowing remained a passion and Sarah combined her nursing with intensive training as a member of Grosvenor Rowing Club in Chester.
I love nursing and found that the two things really complement each other. Rowing is a really good switch-off from nursing and my nursing really puts my rowing in perspective and I get so much from my patients and the people I work with. If I’m really nervous for a race or have a bad day on the water, then my work reminds me what other people are going through and how sport is such a privilege.
After four years working with coach Paul Turner at Grosvenor, in September 2024 she decided it was time give rowing full-time a try and so moved to Leander Club in Berkshire, one of the world's oldest and most prestigious rowing clubs.
She is now training with the GB team in Caversham and was absolutely delighted to make her competition debut with them this month at the European Rowing Championships in Bulgaria. “It’s a dream come true,” says Sarah. “I always thought it would cool to row for the national team and we train hard but to see it all come together like this is just amazing.
“What I love about rowing is that you can never get bored and there’s always a challenge. It’s a sport with so many different elements – you’re out on the water, you’re in the gym on the rowing machines and lifting weights, and it’s about endurance, power, fitness and technique.”
Sarah is really thankful for her work at The Clatterbridge Cancer Centre NHS Foundation Trust, saying: “Clatterbridge has been a massive part of my journey. My team and my manager have been so supportive and I really feel I owe the Trust a lot.”
Dr Amy Jackson, a Consultant Clinical Oncologist who specialises in upper gastrointestinal cancer at The Clatterbridge Cancer Centre, said:
We are all absolutely over the moon for Sarah. Rowing for the national team is such an enormous achievement and it is incredible to win gold on your debut. She is a fantastic team member and deserves all the success in the world.
