NORTH Vancouver siblings Michael and Lauren Wilkinson live an odd existence these days, going through almost identical days of grueling training as they work towards their shared goals of rowing for Canada in the 2012 Olympic Summer Games.
The odd part is that their days are spent thousands of miles apart with Lauren in London, Ont., with the women's national program and Michael in Victoria with the men.
"It's just a lot of slogging and a lot of miles," said Michael, on the phone from Victoria between workouts.
"Training three times a day and working hard," added Lauren, fresh off the water in London.
The separation between the two siblings chasing the same dream is a little strange but one perk of the situation is that they get to stage mini family reunions at unusual points around the world for national and international competitions.
One of those happy reunions came last month in Welland, Ont. where the pair made a big splash, each earning a medal at the RBC National Rowing Championships.
Big brother can now call himself a national champion after winning gold in the men's singles event while little sis earned herself a silver in women's pairs with partner Janine Hanson.
Michael and Lauren actually crossed the finish line less than half and hour apart. For Michael, 25, it was his first national championship gold medal.
"It feels pretty good," he said about earning the title. "It's a pretty good group of guys I was up against. We all train against each other so it's always exciting to duke it out at a real event."
For Lauren, 22, it was her first senior national championship medal. Lauren's boat was less than two seconds behind the winners with the third-place crew also right there.
"It's pretty exciting because you can feel when the other boats make moves," said Lauren. "You can really push yourselves against them."
The national championships finished off a busy season for both siblings. Earlier in the year they got to have another reunion, this time even further away from home in Bled, Slovenia at the world rowing championships. Lauren was there as an alternate while Michael and rowing partner Fraser Berkhout scored a major achievement for Canada, finishing 11th in men's doubles to qualify that boat for the 2012 Olympics.
Lauren also scored the biggest victory of her career over the summer, helping Canada win gold in women's eights at the under-23 world championships.
"That was pretty huge - it was amazing," she said. "It's hard to put into words - it was just such a wonderful moment when you cross the line and you see that all of the work that you've put in has come to something. It's not an individual sport, you're in the boat with seven other rowers and a coxswain. It's really satisfying to know that everybody came together for that effort."
With both siblings riding waves of success, they are now each focused on making the team for the 2012 Olympics. Both selection camps are on now and will run until athletes are chosen early next summer. There are no guaranteed spots but both Lauren and Michael, each trying for their first Olympic placement, can't help but dream of another reunion next summer in London.
"Amazing," both said.
"That's the hope, right," added Michael. "Hopefully we can both do it."
Before that can happen, however, there's that not-so-insignificant matter of the daily grind of workouts both on the water and in the weight room.
"You've always constantly got to be pushing and continuing to improve," said Michael. "If you stay the same for any period of time someone is going to get faster than you. That's the way it works."
"It's nothing really fancy or magical, you just have to put in the hours," added Lauren. "You have to be there day after day, pushing yourself. You always try to keep the end goal in mind. . . . The goal is not to make the team, the goal is to win an Olympic gold medal in the boat of your choice. It's just keeping that in mind and trying to stay injury free and keep on improving."
The siblings grew up in Lynn Valley, their parents both rowers. Lauren followed older brothers Jerome and Michael to training sessions with the Burnaby Lake Rowing Club. At first she was relegated to the shore where she spent her time running around the lake, but as soon as she was big enough she jumped right into the boat.
"She's a prodigy, that girl," said Michael with a laugh. "I'm so proud of my sister, she's a very hard worker and I'm really hoping for all the best this year. She's on the other side of the country right now but I know she's training hard and working towards that same goal."
The feeling, of course, is mutual.
"I was so proud of him when he won the national championships this year. (I was) like, 'That's my brother!'" she said. "He's put in so much work - I mean, we all do - but it's pretty sweet to see it all pay off."
