Kate Elizabeth Slatter OAM (born 10 November 1971; married name Kate Allen) is an Australian former

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 ...

, a sixteen time national champion, world champion and Olympic champion from

Adelaide Adelaide ( ) is the capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater Adelaide (including the Adelaide Hills) or the Adelaide city centre. The dem ...

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a state in the southern central part of Australia. It covers some of the most arid parts of the country. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories ...

. She is a three-time Olympian who in 1996 won Australia's first Olympic gold in women's rowing.

Club and state rowing

Slatter began rowing at the

Adelaide University Boat Club The Adelaide University Boat Club is a rowing club affiliated with the University of Adelaide. The club was founded in 1881, and in 1896 helped to form the Adelaide University Sports Association. The main clubrooms, donated by Robert Barr Smit ...

in 1989, and rowed in their victorious women's eight at the 1996

Australian University Games The UniSport Nationals is a multi-sport event held annually between the 43 Australian universities and tertiary institutions. Overseen by UniSport, the peak governing body of university sport in Australia, the nationals is the flagship event on ...

, two weeks after winning gold in Atlanta. Slatter made her selection debut for South Australia in 1992 in the state women's coxless four to contest the ULVA Trophy at the Interstate Regatta within the

Australian Rowing Championships Australian(s) may refer to: Australia * Australia, a country * Australians, citizens of the Commonwealth of Australia ** European Australians ** Anglo-Celtic Australians, Australians descended principally from British colonists ** Aboriginal Aus ...

. She raced in further South Australian women's coxless fours in 1993, 1996 and 1998 seeing a victory in 1996. In 1999 the blue riband women's heavy weight event at the Australian Interstate Regatta became an event for eights. Slatter stroked the first two South Australian women's eight which competed for the ULVA Trophy in 1999 and 2000. In AUBC colours Slatter contested national titles at the

on many occasions starting with her 1990 win of the U23 women's coxless four championship. In 1991 Slatter first competed at the national level with

Megan Still Megan Leanne Marcks (née Still), OAM (born 19 October 1972) is an Australian former national, Olympic and world champion rower. She is an Olympic and World Champion in the coxless pair who represented Australia at the Olympics in 1992 and 1996 ...

when they contested the Australian women's pair championship title in an AIS composite crew. That same year Slatter and Still won two national senior championships together - the open women's coxless four and the open women's eight in an AIS crew but wearing AUBC colours. In 2000 she won the national coxless pairs championship title with

Rachael Taylor Rachael May Taylor (born 11 July 1984) is an Australian actress and model. Her first lead role was in the Australian series ''headLand'' (2005–2006). She then made the transition to Hollywood, appearing in films including ''Man-Thing'' (2005 ...

. All told Slatter won sixteen Australian championship titles for either South Australia or the

International representative rowing

Slatter's first Australian representative selection came at age twenty and straight into the senior women's squad for the

1991 World Rowing Championships The 1991 World Rowing Championships were World Rowing Championships that were held from 19 to 25 August 1991 in Vienna, Austria. The regatta was held on the New Danube. Medal summary The finals were raced on Saturday and Sunday, 24 and 25 August ...

in Vienna.Slatter at World Rowing
/ref> She was selected in the women's coxless four with Jodie Dobson, Emmy Snook and

Megan Marcks Megan Leanne Marcks (née Still), OAM (born 19 October 1972) is an Australian former national, Olympic and world champion rower. She is an Olympic and World Champion in the coxless pair who represented Australia at the Olympics in 1992 and 1996 ...

. All four girls doubled up in the Australian women's eight. The 1991 coxless four stayed together into the 1992 Olympic year and were selected to compete at the

1992 Barcelona 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 ...

. They had to defeat France in a qualification regatta to get through. Then in the Olympic lead-up Marcks suffered a stress fracture of the rib affecting the crew's preparation. They made the Olympic final in the

coxless four A coxless four is a rowing boat used in the sport of competitive rowing. It is designed for four persons who propel the boat with sweep oars, without a coxswain. The crew consists of four rowers, each having one oar. There are two rowers on th ...

, a good result given their lack of international racing experience but finished in overall sixth place. With Snook and Dobson changed out for Courtney Johnstone and Gina Douglas, Slatter and Marcks stayed together in the coxless four into 1993 and they competed at the

1993 World Rowing Championships The 1993 World Rowing Championships were World Rowing Championships that were held from 30 August to 5 September 1993 at Račice, Czech Republic. Medal summary Men's events Women's events Medal table References {{World Rowing Cham ...

in Racice where again they were last in the A final and achieved a sixth place. At the

1994 World Rowing Championships The 1994 World Rowing Championships were World Rowing Championships that were held from 11 to 18 September 1994 at Eagle Creek Park, Indianapolis Indianapolis (), colloquially known as Indy, is the state capital and most populous city of t ...

Slatter and Marcks were still in the coxless four and now with

Alison Davies Alison Nicole Fallon ( Davies, born 26 September 1974) is an Australian rower. She was a junior world champion in 1992 and competed at two Olympic Games and at four senior World Rowing Championships. State rowing Davies made State selection ...

and Tory Toogood they rowed to a bronze medal. All four girls backed up in the Australian women's eight and with Slatter in the six seat, they rowed to a sixth-place finish. In 1995 in their fifth year of rowing together Slatter and Marcks stepped into the Australian women's coxed pair. They were about to make Australian women's rowing history. At the

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

in Tampere they won their heat, semi and the final claimed a world championship title and put their opponents on notice as to their Olympics aspirations. They also doubled up in the engine room - seated at three and four - of the women's eight who placed ninth overall. At the

1996 Atlanta 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, ...

Marcks and Slatter in the

coxless pair A coxless pair is a rowing boat used in the sport of competitive rowing. It is designed for two rowers, who propel the boat with sweep oars. The crew consists of a pair of rowers, each having one oar, one on the stroke side (rower's right h ...

, prevailed over an equally fancied American crew with a 0.39 seconds margin to claim the first Olympic title by an Australian women’s crew. It was a tremendous day for Australian rowing as the girls' gold medal was matched by the

Oarsome Foursome The Oarsome Foursome is the nickname for an Australian men's rowing coxless four crew who competed with a clear lineage between 1990 and 2012, winning two Olympic gold medals and one silver medal, two world championships as a coxless four, and ...

of Ginn, Tomkins, McKay, Green and was supplemented by a silver medal from the men’s coxless pair making it the best day for Australian rowing at an Olympic regatta till 2008.AOC profile Megan Marcks
/ref> Upon Marcks' 1996 retirement, Slatter was determined to go again and needed to find a new pair partner to build a campaign for

Sydney 2000 The 2000 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXVII Olympiad and also known as Sydney 2000 (Dharug: ''Gadigal 2000''), the Millennium Olympic Games or the Games of the New Millennium, was an international multi-sport event held from 1 ...

. She chose

after rowing with her in the women's eight at various international competitions including the

1998 World Rowing Championships The 1998 World Rowing Championships were World Rowing Championships that were held from 9 to 18 September 1998 in Cologne, Germany. The World Rowing Championships are organized by FISA, the International Rowing Federation. Medal summary Men's e ...

. Slatter competed in the eight and in a coxless four at two World Rowing Cups in Europe in 1998 and then in the eight to a fourth placing at Cologne 1998. In 1999 Slatter and

came together in the coxless pair. They raced at a World Rowing Cup and then at the

1999 World Rowing Championships The 1999 World Rowing Championships were World Rowing Championships that were held from 22 to 29 August 1999 at the Royal Canadian Henley Rowing Course in St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada. Medal summary Men's events Women's events Medal ...

in St Catharines to a bronze medal. In the 2000 Olympic year they raced with success at two World Rowing Cups in Europe before coming to Sydney. At the

Sydney 2000 Olympics The 2000 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXVII Olympiad and also known as Sydney 2000 (Dharug: ''Gadigal 2000''), the Millennium Olympic Games or the Games of the New Millennium, was an international multi-sport event held from 1 ...

they placed second in their heat, won their repechage and placed second behind the Romanians in the Olympic final, beating out the US pair for the silver by 4/100ths of a second. Their racing at Sydney 2000 was in a shell named after

. It was a fitting end to a stellar representative career for Slatter. Arguably Slatter was Australia's finest ever female rower until

Kim Crow Kimberley Jean "Kim" Brennan (née Crow; born 9 August 1985) is a retired Australian rower. She is a sixteen-time national champion, two-time World Champion, three-time Olympian and Olympic gold medallist. Personal Crow was born in Melbourne ...

's dominance was established between 2012 and 2016.

Accolades

Slatter was awarded the Order of Australia medal for her rowing achievements. In 2001, she was inducted into the

Australian Institute of Sport The Australian Institute of Sport (AIS) is a high performance sports training institution in Australia. The Institute's headquarters were opened in 1981 and are situated in the northern suburb of Bruce, Canberra. The AIS is a division of the ...

'Best of the Best'.Australian Institute of Sport 'Best of the Best'
In 2002, she was inducted into the

Sport Australia Hall of Fame The Sport Australia Hall of Fame was established on 10 December 1985 to recognise the achievements of Australian sportsmen and sportswomen. The inaugural induction included 120 members with Sir Don Bradman as the first inductee and Dawn Fraser th ...

References

External links

*
Australian Rowing HistoryAustralian Institute of SportAdelaide University Boat Club
{{DEFAULTSORT:Slatter, Kate Elizabeth 1971 births Living people Australian female rowers People educated at Geelong Grammar School Australian Institute of Sport rowers Olympic medalists in rowing Olympic gold medalists for Australia Olympic silver medalists for Australia Rowers at the 1996 Summer Olympics Rowers at the 2000 Summer Olympics Recipients of the Medal of the Order of Australia Sport Australia Hall of Fame inductees Rowers at the 1992 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 2000 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 1996 Summer Olympics World Rowing Championships medalists for Australia Rowers from Adelaide Sportswomen from South Australia