Eton, England: the stage was set for the biggest upset of the 2006 World Rowing Championships, as trans-Tasman rivals edged bow ball for bow ball down the pristine course. As Liz Kell pulled her blade through the water for the final, painful time and heard the finishing siren she knew that she and Brooke Pratley had rowed out of their skin.

“We crossed the line and I knew we had a medal, I just wasn’t sure which one,” she said. “Then we looked up at the score board and our jaws dropped”.

So did the jaws of the spectators on the course and the supporters at home. Kell and Pratley had pulled off the impossible, they had won gold in the women’s double skull and edged out the reigning Olympic and World Champions, New Zealand’s Ever-Swindell sisters.

What made this victory so breathtaking and made Kell the toast of world rowing was that just months before Eton, she was suffering from a torn quadricep muscle and in the days leading up to the event a crippling viral infection. And the World Championships represented Kell’s first international race in over 24 months.

The race was testament to Kell’s warrior spirit. She has proved time and time again that she has the tenacity and competitive thirst that is needed to be the best in what is, possibly, the most gruelling competitive sport.

It was this tenacious desire that saw Kell and Pratley share the honours at the 2006 rower of the year award. Rowing Australia’s high performance director Noel Donaldson was not surprised.

“To win a world championship is an excellent effort,” Donaldson said. “They have received due recognition for their performances.”

For Kell it is all about attitude. When asked for a doctrine that applies to her sport she does not hesitate for a second. “Everything is real until proven wrong,” she says with a determined glint. “For rowing or sport in general the final race is the easiest thing you will do all season, all the training before, and getting to the final … that is the real slog.”

Hard work and dedication don’t just apply to Kell’s rowing. More recently she has been pursuing a Bachelor of Education (PDHPE) from the University of Sydney.

“Finding a balance between sport and study is what makes an athlete,” she says. “You cannot expect to concentrate on one thing, such as sport and be happy with yourself.”

This year Kell enters her first year as an elite Sports Scholarship holder with Sydney University Sport, where she is a fantastic asset to a boat club already brimming with champions.

Kell is quick to note that the incredible support base at Sydney University could prove instrumental in pushing her toward her eventual goals of Olympic gold and a world record.

“Sydney University realises that although my education is highly important, at the moment, I will take sacrifices in my education in order to achieve my sporting dreams. Within that, they are 100 per cent behind me in both my education and sporting career,” she says.

Although Kell has tasted rowing glory, she knows that there is a long road ahead and that she cannot rest on her laurels. She recently struggled with injury in the lead up to the 2007 Australian Championships, where, unlike their miracle comeback at Eton, Kell and Pratley were beaten by a Queensland and Tasmanian duo.

The set-back will only serve to strengthen Kell’s resolve as she shakes off her injury and strokes full steam ahead toward the Beijing Olympic Games.