Ashburton College rowing star Veronica Wall is off to the World Junior Championships. Photo Steve McArthurThe next time Ashburton rower Veronica Wall touches down in New Zealand, there is every chance she could be a world champion.

Yesterday, Wall travelled to Bulgaria alongside her double sculls partner Sydney Johnson and coach Bruce Jones ahead of the 2017 World Rowing Junior Championships in Trakai, Lithuania in early August.

While in Bulgaria, the pair will train, before travelling to Lithuania on July 24 to meet with the rest of the New Zealand team before the championships start on August 2.

“We are just going to take it how it goes and hopefully we will improve on last year,” said Wall.

“I’m feeling good at the moment so we are just being hopeful.”

Wall has spent the past two months training in Cambridge with New Zealand rowing, training up to 10 times per week, and only getting Thursday morning, Saturday afternoons and Sunday off.

“It is a great experience, just from last year it is really cool,” she said.

“There is definitely a language barrier, we don’t socialise much with the other countries.

“It is interesting to compete at an international level and sort of get an idea of what is out there.”

The selection comes off the back of yet another dominant performance at the Maadi Cup, where Wall won four medals.

By Jaime Pitt-MacKay © The Ashburton Guardian - 10 July 2017