Erin Kennedy (née Wysocki-Jones; born 5 August 1992) is a

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

Paralympic The Paralympic Games or Paralympics, also known as the ''Games of the Paralympiad'', is a periodic series of international multisport events involving athletes with a range of physical disabilities, including impaired muscle power and impaire ...

coxswain The coxswain ( , or ) is the person in charge of a boat, particularly its navigation and steering. The etymology of the word gives a literal meaning of "boat servant" since it comes from ''cock'', referring to the cockboat, a type of ship's boa ...

with the GB Rowing Team. Erin is a three time World Champion, three time European Champion and World Best Time holder in the PR3 Mixed

coxed four A coxed four, also known as a 4+, is a rowing boat used in the sport of competitive rowing. It is designed for four persons who propel the boat with sweep oars and is steered by a coxswain. The crew consists of four rowers, each having one ...

. She has won every international competition and is the first and only coxswain to ever hold the Paralympic, World and European titles at the same time

In 2022, Erin Kennedy was diagnosed with Triple-negative breast cancer, Triple Negative Breast Cancer aged 29 and used her platform to raise awareness of early detection whilst continuing to compete for Grea
Britain
She competed at the 2022 Rowing World Cup in

Belgrade, Serbia Belgrade ( , ;, ; names in other languages) is the capital and largest city in Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers and the crossroads of the Pannonian Plain and the Balkan Peninsula. Nearly 1,166,763 mill ...

, winning Gold just four days after her diagnosis and won the 2022 European Championships in

Munich, Germany Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the States of Germany, German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the List of cities in Germany by popu ...

whilst on

chemotherapy Chemotherapy (often abbreviated to chemo and sometimes CTX or CTx) is a type of cancer treatment that uses one or more anti-cancer drugs ( chemotherapeutic agents or alkylating agents) as part of a standardized chemotherapy regimen. Chemothe ...

Personal Life

Erin was born in Plymouth and grew up in Wantage, Oxfordshire. She attended

King Alfred's Academy King Alfred's Academy is a Secondary school in Wantage, Oxfordshire, recognised as an Academy. It is named after King Alfred the Great, who ruled Wessex from 871 to 899 and was born in Wantage in 849 AD. The school has approximately 140 teacher ...

and studied History and English at Pembroke College,

Oxford University Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to th ...

. Kennedy was appointed

Member of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

(MBE) in the

2022 New Year Honours The 2022 New Year Honours are appointments by some of the 15 Commonwealth realms to various orders and honours to recognise and reward good works by citizens of those countries. The New Year Honours are awarded as part of the New Year celebrations ...

for services to rowing.

Career

Early Career (2011-2016)

Erin began rowing at Pembroke College, Oxford, and in her third year in the sport, coxed the

Blue Boat The Blue Boat is the highest level boat representing the University of Oxford or the University of Cambridge in the universities' annual rowing races on the River Thames, The Boat Race and Women's Boat Race. As of 2016, the women's first VIII ...

in the 2014

Women's Boat Race The Women's Boat Race is an annual rowing race between Cambridge University Women's Boat Club and Oxford University Women's Boat Club. First rowed in 1927, the race has taken place annually since 1964. Since the 2015 race it has been rowed on ...

, winning in record time and earning a

Blue Blue is one of the three primary colours in the RYB colour model (traditional colour theory), as well as in the RGB (additive) colour model. It lies between violet and cyan on the spectrum of visible light. The eye perceives blue when ...

in the process. Kennedy moved to cox for

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 t ...

, in Henley-on-Thames where she is still a member now.

Tokyo Games Cycle (2017-2021)

Erin first represented Great Britain in the Women's 8+ at the 2017 European Championships in Račice, Czech Republic finishing fourth. Kennedy then returned to the international stage at the 2018 World Championships in the PR3 Mix 4+, winning her first Gold with a crew of Oliver Stanhope, Daniel Brown,

Grace Clough Grace Elizabeth Sorrel Clough (born 21 June 1991) is a former British Paralympic rower who competed in the mixed coxed four event. She won multiple gold medals at the World Rowing Championships and World Rowing Cup alongside a gold at the 2016 ...

and

Ellen Buttrick Ellen Frances Buttrick (born 3 August 1995) is a British Paralympic rower who competes in the mixed coxed four. Buttrick was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the 2022 New Year Honours The 2022 New Year Honours are ...

. In 2019, Kennedy and her crew, consisting of Oliver Stanhope,

Giedrė Rakauskaitė Giedrė Rakauskaitė (born 13 June 1991 in Kaunas) is a British Paralympic rower who is a triple World champion in the mixed coxed four. She won a gold medal in the mixed cox four at the 2020 Tokyo Paralympics. Rakauskaitė was appointed Me ...

and

James Fox William Fox (born 19 May 1939), known professionally as James Fox, is an English actor. He appeared in several notable films of the 1960s and early 1970s, including '' King Rat'', '' The Servant'', ''Thoroughly Modern Millie'' and ''Performan ...

set a new World Best Time at the 2019 World Rowing Championships in Ottensheim, Bulgaria in the PR3 Mix 4+ of 6:49.24 while also claiming a qualification place for

Tokyo 2020 The , officially the and also known as , was an international multi-sport event held from 23 July to 8 August 2021 in Tokyo, Japan, with some preliminary events that began on 21 July. Tokyo was selected as the host city during the ...

. The crew held the Guinness World Record for the fastest row in the PR3 Mix 4+ and were featured in the 2021 Book of

Guinness World Records ''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a reference book published annually, listing world ...

. Kennedy was later part of the crew that broke her own world best time with a new standing time of 6:47.29 in the A Final of the 2023 World Rowing Cup II in

Varese Varese ( , , or ; lmo, label= Varesino, Varés ; la, Baretium; archaic german: Väris) is a city and ''comune'' in north-western Lombardy, northern Italy, north-west of Milan. The population of Varese in 2018 has reached 80,559. It is the c ...

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

. Following a postponement of the Tokyo Games and all international racing in 2020, Kennedy and the same crew of 2019 won the 2021 European Championships in Varese, Italy. In 2021, Kennedy along with Oliver Stanhope,

and

won the Paralympic Games, making it 11 years unbeaten for the GB Crew.

Paris Games Cycle (2022-2024)

Erin returned to international competition in May 2022, winning the Rowing World Cup I in

with a new crew of Oliver Stanhope, Edward Fuller,

and Francesca Allen. This gold medal was the final FISA medal which Kennedy not previously won. Later, she revealed she had flown to compete the day after being diagnosed with Breast Cancer, winning a gold just four days later. Erin continued with the same crew to compete at the 2022 European Championships in

and won her second European title whilst on

. She revealed to the BBC that she would be taking a break from the sport to focus on her health. In 2023, Erin returned to international competition exactly a year to the day after she was diagnosed with breast cancer. With a new crew of Edward Fuller, Morgan Fice-Noyes,

and Francesca Allen she won the 2023 European Championships in

Bled, Slovenia Bled (; german: Veldes,''Leksikon občin kraljestev in dežel zastopanih v državnem zboru,'' vol. 6: ''Kranjsko''. 1906. Vienna: C. Kr. Dvorna in Državna Tiskarna, p. 146. in older sources also ''Feldes'') is a town on Lake Bled in the Upper Ca ...

. With the same crew, a new World Best Time was set of 6:47.29 in the A Final of the 2023 World Rowing Cup II in

. The crew went on to win the 2023 World Championships in

and qualify the boat for the 2024 Paris Games. The crew helped Great Britain top the Medal Table and make it 13 years unbeaten.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kennedy, Erin 1992 births Living people People from Wantage Paralympic rowers for Great Britain British female rowers Rowers at the 2020 Summer Paralympics Medalists at the 2020 Summer Paralympics Paralympic medalists in rowing Paralympic gold medalists for Great Britain Sportspeople from Plymouth, Devon Members of the Order of the British Empire Alumni of Pembroke College, Oxford Coxswains (rowing) Breast cancer Cancer awareness