Sarah Katharine Winckless (born 18 October 1973) is a British 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 ...

. She won a bronze medal in Double sculls with her partner

Elise Laverick Elise Mary Sherwell ( Laverick, born 27 July 1975 in Rustington, West Sussex) is a British rower. She won bronze at the 2004 Summer Olympics in the double scull with Sarah Winckless, and again at the 2008 Summer Olympics with Anna Beb ...

at the 2004 Athens Olympic Games, and was twice world champion, in 2005 and 2006.

Early life and education

Winckless was born in

Reading Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of Letter (alphabet), letters, symbols, etc., especially by Visual perception, sight or Somatosensory system, touch. For educators and researchers, reading is a multifaceted process invo ...

, was educated at

Tiffin Girls' School ("Dare to be Wise") , established = , closed = , type = Grammar Academy , religious_affiliation = , president = , head_label = Headteacher , head = Ian Keary , r_head_label = , r_head = , ch ...

and at

Millfield Millfield is a public school (English independent day and boarding school for pupils aged 13–18) located in Street, Somerset, England. It was founded in 1935. Millfield is a registered charity and is the largest co-educational boarding schoo ...

, and began rowing whilst at

Cambridge University , mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. , established = , other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...

, where she studied Natural Sciences at

Fitzwilliam College Fitzwilliam College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college traces its origins back to 1869 and the foundation of the Non-Collegiate Students Board, a venture intended to offer academically excellent students of all ...

Career

Winckless made her debut for Great Britain in the women's eight at the World Championships in 1998 and finished eighth. She then transferred to sculling, finishing ninth in the double at the 2000 Olympic Games. She was in GB quadruple scull crews that narrowly missed out on the medals at the 2002 and 2003 World Championships, finishing fourth both times. She teamed up with Elise Laverick for the double scull from 2004 on, producing good results in the world cup season before taking Olympic bronze in the 2004 Games held in Athens. She returned to the quad for the 2005 and 2006 world championships, winning with

Rebecca Romero Rebecca Jayne Romero, MBE (born 24 January 1980) is an English sportswoman, a former World Champion and Olympic Games silver medallist at rowing, and a former World champion and an Olympic champion track cyclist. Early life and education Romero ...

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 ...

and

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 ...

in 2005 and

Debbie Flood Deborah Kirsty Bruwer (née Flood; born 27 February 1980) is an English rower, noteworthy for winning silver medals in the quadruple sculls at both the 2004 and 2008 Olympic Games. Biography Flood was born in Harrogate, Yorkshire, and was a Great ...

, Houghton & Grainger in 2006. She was unable to compete in 2007, due to injury, but returned to the GB team for the 2008 Olympic Games, racing in the Women's eight. She announced her retirement from rowing in April 2009. She was UK Chef de Mission for the

Youth Olympic Games The Youth Olympic Games (YOG) is an international multi-sport event for athletes between 15 and 18 years old, organized by the International Olympic Committee. The games are held every four years in staggered summer and winter events consisten ...

, served as the inaugural Chairman of the BOA's Athletes Commission. She was the first woman to be appointed as a

Boat Race Boat racing is a sport in which boats, or other types of watercraft, race on water. Boat racing powered by oars is recorded as having occurred in ancient Egypt, and it is likely that people have engaged in races involving boats and other wate ...

umpire, and in 2020 she would have been the first woman to umpire the men's Boat Race; as the race was cancelled, she achieved this in 2021. She serves on the Athletes Commission and on the Board of

UK Anti-Doping UK Anti-Doping (UKAD) is the organisation responsible for protecting sport in the United Kingdom from doping. It is a non-departmental public body of the Department for Culture, Media and Sport and is structured as a company limited by guarantee. ...

. She was awarded an

MBE Mbe may refer to: * Mbé, a town in the Republic of the Congo * Mbe Mountains Community Forest, in Nigeria * Mbe language, a language of Nigeria * Mbe' language, language of Cameroon * ''mbe'', ISO 639 code for the extinct Molala language Molal ...

in the Queen's Birthday Honours 2015 for "services to sport and young people".

Personal life

Winckless is a campaigner for

Huntington's disease Huntington's disease (HD), also known as Huntington's chorea, is a neurodegenerative disease that is mostly inherited. The earliest symptoms are often subtle problems with mood or mental abilities. A general lack of coordination and an unst ...

charities, having tested positive for the gene mutation while she was at university. She is a patron of

Scottish Huntington's Association Scottish Huntington's Association, also known as SHA, is a registered charity located in Scotland that supports families impacted by the degenerative brain condition Huntington’s disease. Its headquarters is in Paisley. History and operation T ...

. Her parents are Bob Winckless, a three times Cambridge Blue (

1967 Events January * January 1 – Canada begins a year-long celebration of the 100th anniversary of Confederation, featuring the Expo 67 World's Fair. * January 5 ** Spain and Romania sign an agreement in Paris, establishing full consular and ...

1968 The year was highlighted by protests and other unrests that occurred worldwide. Events January–February * January 5 – "Prague Spring": Alexander Dubček is chosen as leader of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia. * Januar ...

and

1969 This year is notable for Apollo 11's first landing on the moon. Events January * January 4 – The Government of Spain hands over Ifni to Morocco. * January 5 **Ariana Afghan Airlines Flight 701 crashes into a house on its approach to ...

) and Valerie Winckless. Her mother later remarried to Olympic rower Michael Hart.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Winckless, Sarah Alumni of Fitzwilliam College, Cambridge British female rowers Olympic rowers of Great Britain Rowers at the 2000 Summer Olympics Rowers at the 2004 Summer Olympics Rowers at the 2008 Summer Olympics Olympic bronze medallists for Great Britain Living people 1973 births Olympic medalists in rowing English female rowers Stewards of Henley Royal Regatta Medalists at the 2004 Summer Olympics Members of the Order of the British Empire Huntington's disease World Rowing Championships medalists for Great Britain People educated at Millfield