"Fire in the belly"- The Story of Penrhosian and Olympian Bec McLaughlin

When Bec McLaughlin (née Sattin) graduated from Penrhos in 1998 she was equipped with grit, resilience and a mindset that would carry her far. Only three years later, at just 21, she was representing Australia on the world stage, claiming her first gold medal – with two more World Rowing Championships medals to follow in the year ahead. Then in 2004, she brought her Olympic dream to life, when she won bronze at the Athens Games — a moment made even more special by sharing it with alumna and close friend Amber Webster (née Bradley, Class of 1997). Since then, Bec has pursued a life of courage and dedication in her career as a firefighter and in raising three young children. 

We sat down with Bec to reflect on her extraordinary story and why she believes the sport continues to shape strong, resilient young women – both on and off the water.

Penrhos College:

Bec, you joined the rowing program in Year 9 and took it to incredible heights. What do you think makes rowing such a valuable experience for young women?

Bec McLaughlin:

I've got a young daughter and I see the challenges that are in front of her. You can't help but look around and realise there's potentially a bit of a bumpy road ahead.

With rowing, you've all got the same ambition, the same goal, and you're all committed to each other. You turn up to training every day and are basically unknowingly supporting each other through what is potentially a pretty tricky period in your life. There are so many changes you go through as a teenage girl and having the support of your crewmates, your coaches and the entire rowing squad is very special. The camaraderie it builds is an amazing way to get through secondary school.

Penrhos College:

You graduated in 1998. Do you still remember your rowing days at Penrhos?

Bec McLaughlin:

I still remember rowing at Penrhos like it was yesterday. The sense of community, the friendships. I remember the manure drives, my old coach and the things he would say. That certainly is embedded as a core memory of my life. It was a really cool time that I can look back on with lots of fun memories. I was always grateful that my parents sent me to Penrhos and I could join the rowing programme.

Penrhos College: 

What do you love about rowing?

Bec McLaughlin:

There's something truly special about the feeling of being in an Eight. You've got eight girls rowing in perfect sync, with the coxswain steering your way. Often, it was still dark in the morning and being out on the water as the sun is coming up – everything is still - you can hear the sound of the oars and feel the sensation of bubbles floating under the boat. When the boat is really in sync, it feels like flying — it's a really special feeling.

Penrhos College:

Looking back, how special was that Head of the River win in the First Eight in 1998?

Bec McLaughlin:

It was amazing. I remember after the Olympics reflecting on my school rowing and thinking, ‘I was actually more nervous before that school race than I was before the Olympics!’ It just meant so much to us and the fact that we were able to pull it off. Our coach Don O’Brien was amazing. He really lifted us, he would always say ‘Oh you’d better have fire in your belly. Keep that fire in the belly!’ And it really did unite us and brought us together. 

Penrhos College:
What are some of the key life lessons you took away from rowing especially during your school years?

Bec McLaughlin:

It was certainly a lot about time management. We had to put in a lot of effort to stay well organised. You really had to be efficient and manage your time effectively.

One of the biggest lessons I learned throughout my rowing career is controlling the things you can control and letting go of the things you can't. Rowing is a sport where you literally cannot control your opposition in anyway. You can't tackle them; you can't influence them — you can't do anything. The only thing you can do is control what's happening in your boat: with your crewmates, your focus and what's happening in your seat. That mindset has been a major life lesson for me, and that seed was planted at school.

Penrhos College:

This life lesson — focusing only on what you can control — was put to the test not long after you left school on the world stage. It was 2001 and you were competing for Australia at the World Rowing Championships in Switzerland when a dramatic challenge unfolded right at the start of the race. What exactly happened?

Bec McLaughlin:

We were in Lucerne on one of the most amazing rowing courses in the world. We'd barely left the starting blocks, when our cox box, which is connected to little speakers throughout the boat so the coxswain can speak to us through a microphone, broke just 200 metres into the race. Our coxswain at the time, Carly Bilson, had to absolutely yell her heart out and she resorted to tapping on the side of the boat. She was finding every possible way to communicate with us. In that moment, we knew we really had to pull together and make this the best race we possibly could, because a curveball had been thrown at us that we couldn’t control. All we could do was block everything else out, focus on the feeling of the boat and really lift.

Penrhos College:

And you truly did — bringing home gold for Australia. Not only was it a dramatic race, but you and your crew also wrote history! 

Bec McLaughlin:

Yes, it was amazing. We lifted to the point where we were clearly in front and won. It was the first time Australia had ever won a World Championship in the Women's Eight. Achieving something that had never been done before was pretty special. Of all the races in my career, that one certainly stands out

Penrhos College: 

Just three years after that remarkable World Championship win, you achieved something even more extraordinary — winning an Olympic bronze medal at the 2004 Athens Games. And what made it even more special was crossing the finish line alongside your close friend Amber Webster (Bradley, Class of 1997).

Bec McLaughlin:

To think that two Penrhosians from the same year got to sit in and row together in Athens and race for the Olympics together was truly special. The Olympics are an incredible experience and so was training together with Amber. That whole journey was unforgettable: in the lead-up to the Games, we competed at a World Cup, then headed to St. Moritz for high-altitude training. Absolutely exhausted from the intense training, there we were — two Penrhos friends —standing on top of a mountain in St. Moritz. Olympic gold was our ambition and although we fell short, the fact that we came home with an Olympic medal is remarkable. I do not take that for granted for a second.

Penrhos College:
How has your background in rowing helped you in your current job?

Bec McLaughlin:

I gained a lot of transferable skills through rowing that have helped me in my job as a firefighter. Rowing didn’t only set me up physically for that job, it taught me how to overcome challenges, adapt, and come up with new solutions to problems. Often in our job as firefighters, we need to be quite resilient and I certainly attribute a lot of that to the discipline of getting up early and turning up to training, even when I didn’t feel like it.  That motivation — not wanting to let other people down in hard situations — is something that I learned from rowing.

Penrhos College:

You had a chance to look at the plans for the new boatshed which will include new training facilities, change rooms and secure space for the boats. What kind of impact do you think will the new boatshed have on the students?

Bec McLaughlin:

It's so exciting — it looks amazing and it’s such a beautiful spot at the river along South Perth. We trained a little bit out of the Wesley boatshed, so I completely understand the comments about sharing someone else's facility. Knowing that the girls will now have a space they can truly call their own will be a complete game changer for how they train and perform. I think that's a really exciting time for the future of Penrhos rowing.

A new era for Penrhos rowing! The new Penrhos Boatshed will transform our program, providing a modern, purpose-built facility from which our rowing squad can begin to recapture the successes of our rich rowing legacy. Let’s reclaim our place as a force in girls’ rowing.

Ways to support

There are a number of ways you can support the transformation of rowing at Penrhos College and the construction of a purpose-built boatshed. 

Please help us reinstate Penrhos as a force within schoolgirl rowing. 

Make a tax-deductible donation to the Penrhos College Boatshed today. For sponsorship or other enquiries, please contact Ra Stewart by telephone 08 9368 9621 or email stewar@penrhos.wa.edu.au.