Sport

Olympic rowing champion Imogen Grant rebuilds her body for Los Angeles 2028

Herz — Sport Desk · 25 August 2026 at 06:32 · 30s summary · 3 min read

The essentials

Imogen Grant, a 30-year-old British rower and Olympic champion in Paris in women's lightweight double scull — a two-rower event in the limited-weight category — must rebuild her body from scratch. As lightweight rowing has been removed from the Olympic programme, she now faces competitors on average 10 cm taller and 20 kg heavier. Vegan by environmental conviction, she consumes up to 4,000 calories per day sourced from tofu and legumes. After a year combining rowing and medicine, she is competing at the 2026 World Championships in Amsterdam with Los Angeles 2028 in her sights.

Olympic champion in Paris, Grant must switch disciplines after lightweight rowing was removed from the Olympics
At 1.68 m tall, she faces competitors 10 cm taller and 20 kg heavier on average
Vegan by conviction, she consumes 3,500–4,000 calories daily to build muscle mass
She combined rowing and medicine after Paris before returning to full-time rowing in 2026
Her goal is a place in the British women's quad for Los Angeles 2028

What we know

Imogen Grant, 30, won the gold medal at the Paris Games in women's lightweight double scull — a two-rower event in the limited-weight category — alongside Emily Craig. According to the BBC, she is now working to physically transform her body to compete without weight restrictions at the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games.

A discipline change forced by lightweight rowing's removal

Lightweight rowing has been removed from the Olympic programme. Grant, who was required to maintain a maximum average weight of 57 kg at pre-race weigh-ins with her partner, no longer has an event to defend her title in. Emily Craig, her Paris partner, retired from sport last year.

In open rowing — the discipline with no weight category — Grant (1.68 m) now competes against opponents typically 10 cm taller and 20 kg heavier than her.

Gaining weight while staying vegan: a nutritional challenge

Grant is vegan by environmental and climate conviction. Yet she must gain muscle mass while meeting the energy demands of a high-level endurance athlete.

She consumes between 3,500 and 4,000 calories daily during training periods — compared to 2,000 calories recommended for an average woman. Her protein comes primarily from tofu, chickpeas, legumes and vegan protein shakes.

3,500–4,000 kcal/day

Grant's daily caloric intake during training

57 kg

Maximum average weight permitted in women's lightweight double scull

20 kg

Average weight difference versus new open rowing competitors

Medicine and rowing: a double life after Paris

Following the Paris Games, Grant combined rowing with a position as a resident doctor in the UK. At the 2025 World Rowing Championships in Shanghai, she only appeared as an alternate.

Back to competition: Lucerne, then Amsterdam

Now back to rowing full-time, she contributed in June 2026 to the British team's victory at the World Cup in Lucerne in the women's four — a four-rower discipline.

Grant was selected for the 2026 World Rowing Championships, taking place from 24 to 30 August in Amsterdam. She is competing alongside Paris Olympic champions Lola Anderson and Hannah Scott, as well as Finnola Stratton.