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One of Britain’s most successful Olympians, after collecting three Olympic silvers Katherine finally took gold alongside Anna Watkins at the London Games. She returned to her boat in time for the Rio Olympics and once again won silver. After then gaining her PhD (in homicide), she went on to support the next generation of sportspeople as Chair of UK Sport before taking over at the British Olympic Association as the organisations first woman Chair.
View / Submit“She was an enthralling speaker and all our guests were talking about how fantastic she was”
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Katherine Grainger is one of an elite group of athletes to have won medals at five consecutive Olympic games. A silver medallist at three consecutive Olympics, she finally took gold at London 2012 providing one of the most thrilling moments of the Games. Having considered leaving the sport, she was tempted back for one last shot at a medal at the Rio Games, where she once again took silver.
Alongside rowing, Katherine combined her sport with studying law, taking a Masters in Medical Law and a PhD in Homicide, the latter of which coincided with London 2012. In presentations, she talks about the challenge of combining academic and sporting careers. She recalls “the mixture of terror, fear, excitement, passion and emotion” at the beginning of a race - and describes the impact the Olympics has had on her life. She reflects on the little things she changed to improve, how identifying and exploiting opportunity pays off in elite competition, and the importance of legacy and her move from focusing on her own performance to helping up-and-coming athletes do the same.
Having narrowly missed out three times, winning gold at the home Games was particularly special, but also came with extra pressure. After finally winning, Katherine reconsidered her future, but returned to the water ready for the Rio Olympics where she again won silver. Alongside her Olympic titles she has six World Championship titles.
After leaving elite-level participation, Katherine became Chair of UK Sport, a role that saw her share her hard-earned expertise in performance and planning the next generation of Olympians. After seven years at UK Sport, she then became Chair of the British Olympic Association, the first women to lead the organisation in its 120-year history.
Away from sport, Katherine has published her autobiography, has been appointed an Honorary Colonel in the Army Reserve, and was chancellor of Oxford Brookes University. She's appeared on TV on shows including Superstars, Question of Sport, and Countdown. She has also co-presented Rowing World Cup coverage for the BBC, and appeared as a pundit during their Commonwealth and Olympic Games coverage.
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