Brenda Catherine Lawson (born 30 October 1967) is a New Zealand rower. She was twice world champion in women's double sculls with Philippa Baker, and they were both inducted into the

New Zealand Sports Hall of Fame The New Zealand Sports Hall of Fame is an organisation commemorating New Zealand's greatest sporting triumphs. It was inaugurated as part of the New Zealand sesquicentenary celebrations in 1990. Some 160 members have been inducted into the Hall o ...

in 2012. Lawson was born in 1967 in

Nelson Nelson may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Nelson'' (1918 film), a historical film directed by Maurice Elvey * ''Nelson'' (1926 film), a historical film directed by Walter Summers * ''Nelson'' (opera), an opera by Lennox Berkeley to a lib ...

; her mother is Val Wilson. She received her education at

Nayland College Nayland College is a coeducational state secondary school located in Stoke, Nelson, New Zealand. It is one of three secondary schools in Nelson which are coeducational. The school was officially opened on 3 February 1966. Crest The crest is di ...

and lived in Nelson until age 17, when she left to progress her rowing career. Lawson rowed for clubs in Wairau,

Hamilton Hamilton may refer to: People * Hamilton (name), a common British surname and occasional given name, usually of Scottish origin, including a list of persons with the surname ** The Duke of Hamilton, the premier peer of Scotland ** Lord Hamilt ...

, and Whanganui. Along with Philippa Baker she finished 4th in the women's double sculls at the

1992 Summer Olympics The 1992 Summer Olympics ( es, Juegos Olímpicos de Verano de 1992, ca, Jocs Olímpics d'estiu de 1992), officially known as the Games of the XXV Olympiad ( es, Juegos de la XXV Olimpiada, ca, Jocs de la XXV Olimpíada) and commonly known as ...

. Lawson and Baker then went on to become double sculls world champions twice in a row, first in

1993 File:1993 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Oslo I Accord is signed in an attempt to resolve the Israeli–Palestinian conflict; The Russian White House is shelled during the 1993 Russian constitutional crisis; Czechoslovakia is peacefu ...

in Račice, Czech Republic, and then in

1994 File:1994 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1994 Winter Olympics are held in Lillehammer, Norway; The Kaiser Permanente building after the 1994 Northridge earthquake; A model of the MS Estonia, which sank in the Baltic Sea; Nelson ...

in Indianapolis, USA. At the

1995 World Rowing Championships File:1995 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: O.J. Simpson is O. J. Simpson murder case, acquitted of the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman from the 1994, year prior in "The Trial of the Century" in the United States; The ...

Tampere Tampere ( , , ; sv, Tammerfors, ) is a city in the Pirkanmaa region, located in the western part of Finland. Tampere is the most populous inland city in the Nordic countries. It has a population of 244,029; the urban area has a population o ...

, Finland, they came third. At the

1996 Summer Olympics The 1996 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXVI Olympiad, also known as Atlanta 1996 and commonly referred to as the Centennial Olympic Games) were an international multi-sport event held from July 19 to August 4, 1996, in Atlanta, ...

, Lawson and Baker came sixth in the

double sculls A double scull is a rowing boat used in the sport of competitive rowing. It is designed for two persons who propel the boat by sculling with two oars each, one in each hand. Racing boats (often called "shells") are long, narrow, and broadly ...

. Lawson and Baker were named New Zealand team of the year at the 1994

Halberg Awards The Halberg Awards are a set of awards, given annually since 1949, recognising New Zealand's top sporting achievements. They are named for New Zealand former middle-distance runner and Olympic gold medalist Sir Murray Halberg. The initial award ...

, and they also won the supreme award. In 2012, Baker and Lawson were inducted into the

, the first woman rowers to achieve this accolade. The Sports Hall of Fame citation reads: Lawson and Baker competed again at the 2017 World Masters Games in

Auckland Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The most populous urban area in the country and the fifth largest city in Oceania, Auckland has an urban population of about ...

, as part of the New Zealand women's eight.

References

External links

* , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Lawson, Brenda 1967 births Living people New Zealand female rowers Sportspeople from Nelson, New Zealand Rowers at the 1992 Summer Olympics Rowers at the 1996 Summer Olympics Olympic rowers of New Zealand World Rowing Championships medalists for New Zealand People educated at Nayland College 20th-century New Zealand women