Olympic champion rower Grace Prendergast is ready for a new chapter, having put down her oars for the last time in her professional sporting career to pursue a life outside of sport.

Speaking from her home in south-west London, where she moved late last year, Grace says launching herself into this new phase of her life is both “exciting” and “terrifying”. 

Grace, 30, won gold in the coxless pair alongside Kerri Gowler at the Tokyo Games in 2021  - her second Olympics - as well as claiming silver in the eights. She won her first of 15 national titles in 2011 and finished her career at the top of her game, coming first in the Women’s Pair in the 2022 World Rowing Championships.

“The leaves will change their colours… and life / wants more from me.” The emotional lyrics of Kiwi singer-songwriter Kylie Price resonate in an autumnal London, much as they did in her chilly hometown of Dunedin. Kylie, 29, concluded her debut season in the UK last month with a polished set at the renowned music venue ‘Green Note’ in Camden and she is Caffe Nero’s featured ‘Artist of the Month’ for November. With two decades of experience performing and an array of international awards under her belt, the 29-year old is now evolving further, as her London adventure brings a new backbeat to the country-influenced folk-pop style which has brought her NZ chart success. “I’m excited to share with people new music that they wouldn’t expect me to release”, she says.

Rachel Peacock recalls an emotional moment during the grand re-opening of the Battersea Power Station on October 14th, when the marketing team she’s worked with since the project began gathered for a group hug. “One of them just said ‘we did it’,” she says. “I’ll never forget that moment”. She expects to feel similarly emotional when walking through the carved waharoa gateway at Auckland Airport, hearing birdsong and familiar accents, when she returns for Christmas in New Zealand after three long years away.

As Senior Marketing Manager for the Battersea Power Station regeneration project, Rachel’s high-paced working life in the lead-up to its opening celebration hasn’t left much time for moments of reflection. Rachel is responsible for promoting the relaunched Power Station as a destination for shopping and hospitality, combined with new parks, offices and living spaces directly on the riverfront. The striking shape of the former power station is an iconic landmark on the London skyline, and its 42-acre site is effectively a new London neighbourhood, with a vibrant events calendar and dozens of innovative concept stores by leading brands like Zara, Adidas and MAC.