Catherine Bishop (born 22 November 1971) is a former 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 ...

. In partnership with

Katherine Grainger Dame Katherine Jane Grainger (born 12 November 1975) is a British former rower and current Chair of UK Sport. She is a 2012 Summer Olympics gold medallist, four-time Olympic silver medallist and six-time World Champion. She served as Chancell ...

she was World Champion in the coxless pair in 2003, and in 2004 they won a silver medal at the Olympic Games. Following a career as a diplomat she is now a leadership speaker, writer and consultant.

Early life and education

Bishop was born in Leigh on Sea, England, and educated at

Westcliff High School for Girls Westcliff High School for Girls, also known by its initialism WHSG, is a selective grammar school and academy for girls in Southend-on-Sea, Essex and surrounding areas. It teaches students from the age of 11 through to 18 years old, and admission ...

. She has a BA in modern languages from Pembroke College, Cambridge, a master's in international politics from the

University of Wales, Aberystwyth , mottoeng = A world without knowledge is no world at all , established = 1872 (as ''The University College of Wales'') , former_names = University of Wales, Aberystwyth , type = Public , endowment = ...

and a Ph.D. in contemporary German literature from the

University of Reading The University of Reading is a public university in Reading, Berkshire, England. It was founded in 1892 as University College, Reading, a University of Oxford extension college. The institution received the power to grant its own degrees in 192 ...

Career

Rowing

Bishop won medals at the World Championships twice, a silver in 1998 in the women's pair with Dot Blackie, and gold in 2003, again in the pair, with

. In 1999 she was the World Indoor Rowing Champion. She competed in the Women’s Eight in the Olympic Games in Atlanta (1996), the Coxless Pair in Sydney (2000) before going on to win silver in the

2004 Olympic Games The 2004 Summer Olympics ( el, Θερινοί Ολυμπιακοί Αγώνες 2004, ), officially the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad ( el, Αγώνες της 28ης Ολυμπιάδας, ) and also known as Athens 2004 ( el, Αθήνα 2004), ...

in the Women's coxless pair with Grainger.

Diplomacy

From 2001 through 2014 Bishop forged a career with the Foreign Office, for whom she worked in London; Sarajevo, Bosnia; and Basra Iraq. Her roles included : Political, projects and press officer at British Embassy, Sarajevo, from 2004; Political Adviser to the High Representative to Bosnia & Herzegovina from 2006; Head of the Political Section at the British Consulate in Basra from 2007; and Deputy Director of the Stabilisation Unit in London from 2009–11.British Government CV

Consultancy

Bishop now has a consultancy business specialising in leadership and team performance drawing on her successful sports career.

References

External links

* *
Speakerscorner.co.uk
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bishop, Cath 1971 births Olympic rowers of Great Britain Rowers at the 1996 Summer Olympics Rowers at the 2000 Summer Olympics Rowers at the 2004 Summer Olympics English female rowers Alumni of Pembroke College, Cambridge Alumni of Aberystwyth University Alumni of the University of Reading Living people Olympic medalists in rowing Olympic silver medallists for Great Britain People educated at Westcliff High School for Girls Medalists at the 2004 Summer Olympics World Rowing Championships medalists for Great Britain Stewards of Henley Royal Regatta