Luuka Jones is finally back in a boat after a battle with long Covid, and now the canoe slalom star wants to help other athletes get in tune with their bodies' needs through her new book.
After the toughest challenge in her long career, Luuka Jones has learned to listen to her body.
The Rio Olympic canoe slalom silver medallist has spent the last six months dealing with the debilitating long-term effects of Covid, and says she’s still not back to 100 percent fitness yet.
But last weekend, Jones - who turns 34 next week - returned to the top step of the dais as national champion in the K1. Resting and reducing her training load, to go easy on herself, have been the keys to her recovery so far.
“It’s definitely been a challenge because my whole life, I’ve basically been an athlete or been an active person; it’s part of my identity,” Jones says, who hadn't done more than 20 seconds of intense paddling since May.
“Suddenly I couldn’t even mow the lawns without being puffed or I couldn’t go for the easiest session on the water without having to go to bed afterwards.”
Jones has also learned how best to fuel her body, as an elite athlete who’s been competing on the world stage for 16 years.
With the help of a leading sports nutritionist, Jones has been on a plant-based diet for the last few years. And now, after a lockdown project, she’s written a book she hopes will help other athletes or active people who might be considering changing the way they eat.
She’d been interested in adopting a plant-based lifestyle for years, but was hesitant to drop animal products from her diet in case it affected her performance.
“In high performance sport, when you’re looking for those one percenters, I thought having a big change like that could have a big impact,” the four-time Olympian says.
The book on plant-based food has been written in partnership with rower Brooke Donoghue (who won Olympic silver in Tokyo in the double sculls, and is a new mum to daughter Keira) and nutritionist Christel Dunshea-Mooij.
Jones has been working with Dunshea-Mooji since 2013, and the two worked together when Jones decided to switch to a plant-based diet.
“As a young athlete, nutrition is really important and I think I came into the high performance sports system with a lot of preconceived ideas,” Jones says.
“But Christel was amazing at breaking things down and her main message is to fuel for the work you’re doing. That’s been really helpful for me, just to make sure I’m getting enough fuel for my training and to fuel performance.”
When the Tokyo Olympics were delayed a year due to Covid, and Jones was facing her first winter at home in over a decade unable to compete in the usual European summer competitions, she sought out a new project.
“There was an opportunity when we were all in New Zealand and we were able to work on something collectively,” Jones explains, with Donoghue also in lockdown at home.
“I said to Christel, wouldn’t it be great to have a vegetarian recipe book with information for athletes or active people who want to switch to a plant-based diet, but don’t feel comfortable because there’s not a lot of information out there?” Jones says. “We took that idea and made it into something quite remarkable.”
The book, Sustain: Plant-based Food for Active People, contains excerpts and recipes from a number of vegetarian and plant-based athletes, along with athletes conscious of sustainable eating practices - including Olympic sailing silver medallist Alex Maloney, tennis player Marcus Daniell, Black Sticks player Hugo Inglis, Olympic gold medallist rower Kerri Williams (née Gowler), and Black Ferns star Ruby Tui.
All profits from the book will go to The Waterboy, a charity that breaks down barriers for youth of participate in sport.
Jones is grateful for the sporting community’s help breaking stereotypes about plant-based diets for athletes. “It’s nice to speak to other athletes and to actually discover that there are a lot of plant-based athletes out there,” she says.
“Since I’ve switched to being a plant-based athlete, I’m still performing at a high level - until I got Covid. There’s no negative impact of switching to a plant-based diet; in fact, it’s hugely beneficial for the environment as well. I haven’t really looked back.”
Jones contracted Covid in March, and initially had fairly mild symptoms, requiring a few days of rest.
“When I started to get symptoms, I tested, but was negative, and so I kind of continued to train,” she says. “I think I probably didn’t listen to my body and pull back when I needed to, so it took me quite a while to come back.”
She trained for a few weeks in Europe, but struggled to bounce back. “It was a bit too much with the travel and I just fell off a cliff and had to come home,” Jones says.
Jones had never missed a major competition due to injury or illness, but had to pull out of the canoe slalom world championships in July.
“I’ve had some niggles in the past, but throughout my career, I’ve definitely been lucky in terms of injuries. I might have had a week where I’ve had to have a reduced training load but normally I’d bounce back pretty quickly," she says.
“It’s definitely been the worst thing I’ve ever experienced."
Jones even set up a specialised oxygen chamber in her garage to try to help her return to full health. “I’m definitely improving and getting back to a good level of training, but it’s taken so much longer than I thought.”
A happy Luuka Jones after her first race in seven months - the canoe slalom nationals.
Last weekend, Jones competed in the canoe slalom national championships in Kawerau, winning the K1 category - her first race since March. It was the first step on her long road back to dominance in the boat.
“It’s been a struggle, not being able to be active and not getting those endorphins,” she says. “I find I have days where if I haven’t been outside or I’m trying to rest and haven’t been training, I definitely feel like I’m getting a bit down or lacking endorphins and just have to get out for a walk.”
Jones has been doing renovations on her house with partner Brendon to keep busy while on a limited training load; the mental side of her rest and recovery just as challenging as the physical.
“The book has also been a really cool distraction from having to be back in New Zealand,” she laughs.
“It’s just been awesome to have worked on this project with Brooke and Christel and we’re really proud of it. It’s nerve-wracking putting all this work into a book and then hoping it’s really helpful for people.”
*Sustain: Plant-based food for Active People is out in bookstores now.
