Deborah Kirsty Bruwer (née Flood; born 27 February 1980) is an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

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 di ...

, noteworthy for winning

silver medal A silver medal in sports and other similar areas involving competition is a medal made of, or plated with, silver awarded to the second-place finisher, or runner-up, of contests or competitions such as the Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, etc ...

s in the quadruple sculls at both the

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 6 ...

and

2008 Olympic Games The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and also known as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes from 204 Na ...

Biography

Flood was born in

Harrogate Harrogate ( ) is a spa town and the administrative centre of the Borough of Harrogate in North Yorkshire, England. Historic counties of England, Historically in the West Riding of Yorkshire, the town is a tourist destination and its visitor at ...

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ; abbreviated Yorks), formally known as the County of York, is a Historic counties of England, historic county in northern England and by far the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its large area in comparison with other Eng ...

, and was a Great Britain junior

judo is an unarmed gendai budō, modern Japanese martial art, Olympic sport (since 1964), and the most prominent form of jacket wrestling competed internationally.『日本大百科全書』電子版【柔道】(CD-ROM version of Encyclopedia Nipponi ...

international and a county level 1500m and cross–country runner and shot–putter before she took up rowing. She won a

bronze medal A bronze medal in sports and other similar areas involving competition is a medal made of bronze awarded to the third-place finisher of contests or competitions such as the Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, etc. The outright winner receive ...

at the 1998 World Junior championships in the

double scull 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 s ...

s along with partner

Frances Houghton Frances Houghton MBE is a 5 time Olympic rower (2000–2016), 4 times World Champion and 3 times Olympic Silver medallist. She now mentors elite athletes and works as a professional chef. Early life Houghton was born in Oxford, and started her ...

. The following year they both won gold in the double sculls at the World Under 23 Championships. In 2000 Flood won gold in the single sculls at the World Under 23 Championships and the single sculls national title rowing for the

Tideway Scullers School Tideway Scullers School is a rowing club on the Tideway of the River Thames next to Chiswick Bridge in Chiswick, London. The club previously held the headship for the Head of the River Race (2009), the largest UK eights event, and the senior sq ...

at the 2000 National Championships. At the 2006 World Championships, Flood originally finished in the silver medal position in the quadruple sculls, but was elevated to

gold Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile met ...

after one of the

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

n crew failed a drugs test. Having taken a year off in 2009, Flood returned to take World Championships gold again in 2010, in the quad sculls with

Beth Rodford Beth Rodford (born 28 December 1982) is a British rower. Rodford participated in two Olympic games, 2008 Summer in Beijing and 2012 Summer in London. At Beijing, she finished in fifth place in the Women's Eight. In 2012 at London, she finishe ...

, and

Annabel Vernon Annabel Morwenna Vernon (born 1 September 1982) is a retired British rower. She was born in Truro, Cornwall. She was educated at St Minver Primary School then Wadebridge School, Downing College, Cambridge, and King's College London (MA Inter ...

. At the

2012 Summer Olympics The 2012 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012) was an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...

Flood competed in the GB quad scull with

, and Melanie Wilson and finished in fifth place. In December 2012 Flood was elected captain of

Leander Club Leander Club, founded in 1818, is one of the oldest rowing clubs in the world, and the oldest non-academic club. It is based in Remenham in Berkshire, England and adjoins Henley-on-Thames. Only three other surviving clubs were founded prior to ...

, the first time a woman had been appointed to this role in almost 200 years. Debbie is a Christian and works for Christians in Sport.

References

External links

Profile at Team GB (2008 Beijing Olympic Games)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Flood, Debbie 1980 births English female rowers Living people Olympic rowers of Great Britain Sportspeople from Harrogate Rowers at the 2004 Summer Olympics Rowers at the 2008 Summer Olympics Rowers at the 2012 Summer Olympics Olympic silver medallists for Great Britain Olympic medalists in rowing Medalists at the 2008 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 2004 Summer Olympics Members of Leander Club World Rowing Championships medalists for Great Britain Stewards of Henley Royal Regatta