Anna Watkins

British rowing gold medalist Anna Watkins has an impressive sporting career to her name. Beginning her passion for rowing with the Newnham College Boat Club, her career has only grown from there. With two Olympic Games under her belt, Anna is no stranger to hard work and commitment that team sport demands. Anna made her first competitive debut for rowing at the 2004 World Under 23 Regatta, winning a gold medal in the Coxless IV’s. A year later, Anna competed in the 2005 World Championships with the Women’s Eight achieving fifth place. It was a year after this event that Anna decided to change her style of rowing, switching to sculling and competing in the double scull.

Anna’s skulling partner was Elise Laverick and together they won bronze medals at the World Championships and 2008 Beijing Olympic Games. In 2009 she was partnered with Annabel Vernon, going on to win a silver medal in the 2009 World Championships. 2010 saw Anna be paired with Katherine Grainger, leaving with an unbeaten season and being crowned World Rowing Female Crew of the Year and The Sunday Times Women’s Sports Team of the Year 2010. London 2012 Olympic Games saw a great victory for Anna and Katherine. They competed in the double scull, breaking the world record and claiming a gold medal to take home in the process.

Due to her commitment and hard work in accordance with rowing Anna was appointed an MBE in the 2013 New Year Honours. Anna left rowing for a period of time after giving birth to her first child. However, in 2015 she announced that she wanted to return to the sport with an end goal of competing in the 2016 Rio Olympic Games. Unfortunately, in 2016 she decided that she would withdraw from the British Olympic rowing programme. Anna’s dedication and determination in accordance with sport gives her reputable qualities for Olympic and sport speaking. She is able to share her knowledge and expertise surrounding the subject with others, both motivating and inspiring others to give sport a try.