Lauren Rachel Catherine Rowles, (born 24 April 1998) is a British parasport rower and former

wheelchair athlete Parasports are sports played by people with a disability, including physical and intellectual disabilities. Some parasports are forms of adapted physical activities from existing able-bodied sports, while others have been specifically created for ...

. She won gold with

Laurence Whiteley Laurence Whiteley (born 29 August 1991) is a British parasport rower. He won gold with Lauren Rowles in the trunk-arms mixed double sculls (TAMix2x) at the 2016 Summer Paralympics. Background Whiteley, who is from Northallerton, North York ...

in the trunk-arms mixed double sculls (TAMix2x) at the

2016 Summer Paralympics ) , nations = 159 , athletes = 4,342 , opening = 7 September , closing = 18 September , opened_by = President Michel Temer , cauldron = Clodoaldo Silva , events = 528 in 22 sports , stadium = Maracanã , sum ...

.The pair repeated their achievement in Tokyo at the 2021 Summer Paralympics.

Background

Rowles, who is from

Cofton Hackett Cofton Hackett is a village and civil parish in the Bromsgrove District of north east Worcestershire, England. It is southwest of the city centre of Birmingham and northeast of Worcester. In 2011, the village had a population of 1,893 but with ...

Bromsgrove District Bromsgrove is a Districts of England, local government district in Worcestershire, England. Its council is based in the town of Bromsgrove. It borders the built up area of Birmingham to the north. Other places in the district include Alvechu ...

, attended North Bromsgrove High School. At the age of 13 she suddenly developed

transverse myelitis Transverse myelitis (TM) is a rare neurological condition wherein the spinal cord is inflamed. The adjective ''transverse'' implies that the spinal inflammation (myelitis) extends horizontally throughout the cross section of the spinal cord; the ...

(a condition in which the spinal cord is inflamed), which left her with no feeling below her chest. She decided to take up Paralympic sport while watching coverage of the

2012 Summer Paralympics The 2012 Summer Paralympics, branded as the London 2012 Paralympic Games, were an international multi-sport parasports event held from 29 August to 9 September 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. They were the 14th Summer Paralympic Gam ...

during a stay in

Stoke Mandeville Stoke Mandeville is a village and civil parish in the Vale of Aylesbury in Buckinghamshire, England. It is located three miles (4.9 km) from Aylesbury and 3.4 miles (5.5 km) from the market town of Wendover. Although a separate civil p ...

Spinal Injuries Unit. Rowles completed her A-levels at

King Edward VI College, Stourbridge (Shame on him who thinks evil of it) , established = , closed = , type = Academy sixth form Day , trust = Heart of Mercia Academy Trust , religious_affiliation = , ...

, and is currently studying law at

Oxford Brookes University Oxford Brookes University (formerly known as Oxford Polytechnic (United Kingdom), Polytechnic) is a public university, public university in Oxford, England. It is a new university, having received university status through the Further and High ...

. She is openly gay. Rowles is in a relationship with Jude Hamer, a wheelchair basketball player.

Career

Rowles competed as a

wheelchair racer Wheelchair racing is the racing of wheelchairs in track and road races. Wheelchair racing is open to athletes with any qualifying type of disability, amputees, spinal cord injuries, cerebral palsy and partially sighted (when combined with another ...

before switching to rowing. She took up the sport in November 2012 and competed in T54 events. In 2014, she was the England under-16s champion at 100 m, 200 m and 1,500 m. She represented England at the

2014 Commonwealth Games The 2014 Commonwealth Games ( gd, Geamannan a' Cho-fhlaitheis 2014), officially known as the XX Commonwealth Games and commonly known as Glasgow 2014, ( sco, Glesca 2014 or Glesga 2014; gd, Glaschu 2014), was an international multi-sport ev ...

, where she was the youngest track and field athlete in the England team at the age of 16. She reached the final of the T54 1500m, finishing ninth. Rowles took up rowing in early 2015. She quickly teamed up with

, who had been searching for a suitable partner to compete with for over two years. They competed at the 2015 World Rowing Championships, winning the silver medal in the trunk-arms mixed double sculls. She and Whiteley competed at their first Paralympics in 2016, where they set a world record in the heats, and won gold in the final.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rowles, Lauren 1998 births Living people English female rowers Rowers at the 2016 Summer Paralympics Medalists at the 2016 Summer Paralympics Rowers at the 2020 Summer Paralympics Medalists at the 2020 Summer Paralympics Paralympic gold medalists for Great Britain English female wheelchair racers English people with disabilities Sportswomen with disabilities Track and field athletes with disabilities Commonwealth Games competitors for England Athletes (track and field) at the 2014 Commonwealth Games Members of the Order of the British Empire People from Bromsgrove District People with paraplegia Sportspeople from the West Midlands (county) World Rowing Championships medalists for Great Britain Sportspeople from Worcestershire Paralympic medalists in rowing Paralympic rowers of Great Britain English LGBT sportspeople LGBT rowers Lesbian sportswomen