It is literally part of the contract when you sign up to the sport, the small monitor reflecting your progress squarely in sight.
But nothing could prepare the Benalla woman for what challenges lay ahead in 2020.
In the height of the COVID-19 crisis, Cresswell was considered lucky to still be able to continue her daily rowing routine.
But she was still forced to adapt.
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First gym closures meant Cresswell had to institute an indoor rowing set up in a compact spare room of her house.
Travel restrictions, which adversely affected Victorians, meant there was zero chances to compete in the foreseeable future.
But Cresswell was still making strides, breaking four of her own world record times during lockdown.
“It included a one hour, a short sprint and 5000m - it gave me something to aim for,” she said.
But if Cresswell wanted to compete again and go for more gold in 2020, she would need a strong internet connection and go virtual.
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Her first attempt was the Australian Nationals – which she trained 16 weeks for – but unable to wrap her head around the connective technology in time, she decided to withdraw.
But the 82-year-old was finally back in the thick of it last month, plugged in and competing in the Oceania qualifiers, which hosted rowers from Australia, New Zealand and New Caledonia.
Cresswell said there had been a strong learning curve to her virtual deep dive.
“It was my first experience. First, I was completely bamboozled by the technology. I did ask some young IT friends and even they didn’t know what was going on,” Cresswell said.
“The first thing I had to do was make sure the monitor on the rowing machine was capable of accepting their upgrades.
“I kept having emails saying check if your firmware is up to date. I didn’t even know what firmware was, then learnt it was just software,” she said with a laugh.
Set with a race plan and a special competitors code number she was expected to dial in – Cresswell contested two races, an hour and 45 minutes apart.
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Racing bright and early New Zealand time, Cresswell rowed the 2000m in a time 9.11.8, while her time for the 500m was 2.04.5.
Finishing first in her age group, Cresswell will now represent Australia in the finals of the World Championships to be held live/virtual in Lausanne, Switzerland in February.
Cresswell said she was unsure if the final would be in real time, or if competitors were expected to race on European time, which would mean a 3 am start.
One thing Cresswell does know though, is this style of competing will be around in the indoor rowing arena for the foreseeable future.
“It’s a sign of the times when someone finishes a race then stands up with a laptop clutched under their arm,” she said.
“It’s going to be part of it for the next few years.”
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