Annabel Morwenna Vernon (born 1 September 1982) is a retired British

rower Rowing, sometimes called crew in the United States, is the sport of racing boats using oars. It differs from paddling sports in that rowing oars are attached to the boat using oarlocks, while paddles are not connected to the boat. Rowing is ...

. She was born in

Truro Truro (; kw, Truru) is a cathedral city and civil parish in Cornwall, England. It is Cornwall's county town, sole city and centre for administration, leisure and retail trading. Its population was 18,766 in the 2011 census. People of Truro ...

Cornwall Cornwall (; kw, Kernow ) is a historic county and ceremonial county in South West England. It is recognised as one of the Celtic nations, and is the homeland of the Cornish people. Cornwall is bordered to the north and west by the Atlantic ...

. She was educated at St Minver Primary School then

Wadebridge School Wadebridge School is a coeducational secondary school with academy status, located in the town of Wadebridge, Cornwall, England. It has 1,235 pupils. The headteacher is Tina Yardley. Facilities include gymnasium, tennis courts, football/rugby ...

, Downing College, Cambridge, and King's College London (MA International Relations). Vernon started rowing at Castle Dore Rowing Club at

Golant Golant ( kw, Golnans) is a village in south Cornwall, United Kingdom. It is on the west bank of the River Fowey and in the civil parish of St Sampson. Golant is about two miles (3 km) north of Fowey and seven miles (11 km) east of S ...

when she was 17, influenced by her elder brother and father. She read history at Downing College, Cambridge, where she rowed in the women's Blue Boat in 2003, under the presidency of Ruth de Las Casas. She was a member of Rob Roy Boat Club while in Cambridge, then represented

Thames Rowing Club The Thames Rowing Club (TRC) is a rowing club based on the tidal Thames as it flows through the western suburbs of London. The TRC clubhouse stands on Putney Embankment. The club was founded in 1860. As at July 2022, Thames had won events at H ...

and now rows under

Marlow Rowing Club Marlow Rowing Club is a rowing club on the River Thames in England, on the southern bank of the Thames at Bisham in Berkshire, opposite the town of Marlow, Buckinghamshire just beside Marlow Bridge and on the reach above Marlow Lock. Founded ...

colours. She represented Great Britain in the Women's Quadruple Sculls at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, winning a silver medal. She was selected to row in the women's eight at the 2012 Summer Olympics. The crew reached the A Final of the event, and finished fifth. After retiring from active competition she embarked on a journalistic, media and speaking career. In 2019 she published her first book
Mind Games
with Bloomsbury Publishing, which looks at the psychology of elite sport through a mixture of academic theories and interviews with sports people.

Achievements

* Bronze medal in the pair at the World U23 Championships in

Poznań Poznań () is a city on the River Warta in west-central Poland, within the Greater Poland region. The city is an important cultural and business centre, and one of Poland's most populous regions with many regional customs such as Saint Joh ...

. * Sixth in the women's single at the 2006 GB Senior Selection Trials in

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

World Championships 2005

* Ninth in the single scull.

2006 World Cup Series

* Gold in the Double Scull at the

Munich Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the third-largest city in Germany, after Berlin and Ha ...

World Cup Regatta. * Fourth in

. * Silver in Lucerne.

World Championships 2006

* Fourth in the Double Scull.

World Championships 2007

* Gold in the Quad Scull

Beijing Olympics 2008

* Silver in the Quad Scull.

World Championships 2009

* Silver in the Double Scull

World Championships 2010

* Gold in the Quad Scull

References

External links

Official website
* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Vernon, Annie 1982 births British female rowers People from Wadebridge Living people Alumni of Downing College, Cambridge Alumni of King's College London Olympic rowers of Great Britain Olympic silver medallists for Great Britain Rowers at the 2008 Summer Olympics Rowers at the 2012 Summer Olympics Sportspeople from Truro Olympic medalists in rowing English female rowers Medalists at the 2008 Summer Olympics World Rowing Championships medalists for Great Britain