Stephanie Charlene Cooper-Foster (born 2 September 1958), best known under her maiden name Stephanie Foster, is a former New Zealand

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 ...

Early life

Foster was born in 1958 in

Morrinsville Morrinsville is a provincial town in the Waikato region of New Zealand's North Island, with an estimated population of as of The town is located at the northern base of the Pakaroa Range, and on the south-western fringe of the Hauraki Plains. ...

, a provincial town in the

Waikato Waikato () is a Regions of New Zealand, local government region of the upper North Island of New Zealand. It covers the Waikato District, Waipa District, Matamata-Piako District, South Waikato District and Hamilton, New Zealand, Hamilton City ...

region of New Zealand. She was involved in many sports. After her family moved to Auckland, she attended

Papakura High School Papakura High School (PHS) is a co-educational state secondary school based in the Auckland suburb of Papakura in New Zealand, catering for students from Year 9 to Year 13. The school was established in 1954 and is now made up of a diverse stu ...

Rowing career

Foster had a cousin who was a rower. She listened with her parents to the radio of the

1972 New Zealand eight The 1972 New Zealand eight was a team of Olympic gold medallists in rowing from New Zealand, having previously won the 1971 European Rowing Championships. At the time, the eight was regarded as the blue ribbon class of rowing, and the sport st ...

winning gold at the

Munich Olympics The 1972 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XX Olympiad () and commonly known as Munich 1972 (german: München 1972), was an international multi-sport event held in Munich, West Germany, from 26 August to 11 September 1972. ...

. Soon after, she was asked to try rowing because a team was one rower short. She agreed and joined the Auckland Rowing Club. Foster first competed internationally at the

1978 World Rowing Championships Events January * January 1 – Air India Flight 855, a Boeing 747 passenger jet, crashes off the coast of Bombay, killing 213. * January 5 – Bülent Ecevit, of Republican People's Party, CHP, forms the new government of Turkey (42nd go ...

Lake Karapiro Lake Karapiro () is an artificial reservoir lake on the Waikato River at Karapiro, south-east of Cambridge in New Zealand's North Island. The lake was formed in 1947 by the damming of the Waikato River to store water for the 96-megawatt Karap ...

, New Zealand. With the women's coxed four and the women's eight, she won both B-finals. At the

1981 World Rowing Championships The 1981 World Rowing Championships were World Rowing Championships that were held from 30 August to 6 September 1981 at Oberschleißheim outside Munich, West Germany. Medal summary Men's events Women's events Medal table References ...

Oberschleißheim Oberschleißheim () is a Municipalities of Germany, municipality in the Munich (district), district of Munich, in Bavaria, Germany. It is located 13 km north of Munich (centre). As of 2005 it had a population of 11,467. Oberschleißheim is ...

, Germany, she came fifth in the women's single scull. At the

1982 World Rowing Championships The 1982 World Rowing Championships were World Rowing Championships that were held from 28 to 29 August 1982 at Rotsee in Lucerne, Switzerland. Medal summary Men's events Women's events Medal table References {{World Rowing Champio ...

Lucerne Lucerne ( , ; High Alemannic German, High Alemannic: ''Lozärn'') or Luzern ()Other languages: gsw, Lozärn, label=Lucerne German; it, Lucerna ; rm, Lucerna . is a city in central Switzerland, in the Languages of Switzerland, German-speaking po ...

, Switzerland, she won a bronze medal in the single scull. She represented New Zealand in the single scull event at the 1984 Olympics, coming seventh overall in the

single scull A single scull (or a scull) is a rowing boat designed for a single person who propels the boat with two oars, one in each hand. Racing boats (often called "shells") are long, narrow, and broadly semi-circular in cross-section in order to minimi ...

. At the

1986 World Rowing Championships The 1986 World Rowing Championships were World Rowing Championships that were held from 17 to 24 August 1986 at Nottingham in the United Kingdom. Medal summary Looking at the open weight classes only, East Germany was the most successful nation ...

Nottingham Nottingham ( , East Midlands English, locally ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area in Nottinghamshire, East Midlands, England. It is located north-west of London, south-east ...

in the United Kingdom, she won a bronze in the women's double scull with

Robin Clarke Robin Clarke (born 1964) is a retired New Zealand rower. Clarke started rowing at age 13, and four years later, she was selected for the national rowing team. At the 1986 Commonwealth Games in Edinburgh, Scotland, she won a gold medal in the ...

. She was the flagbearer at the

1986 Commonwealth Games The 1986 Commonwealth Games ( gd, Geamannan a 'Cho-fhlaitheis 1986) were held in Edinburgh, Scotland, between 24 July and 2 August 1986. They were the second Games to be held in Edinburgh. Thirty two of the eligible fifty nine countries (largel ...

at both the opening and the closing ceremonies, and won golds in the women's single scull and in the women's double scull with

. In the 1987 Queen's Birthday Honours, Foster was appointed a

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 ...

, for services to rowing.

Private life

She married the rower Brett Cooper while she was still competing internationally. She uses her married name apart from rowing, where she goes by her maiden name. They have two sons who also took up rowing. The family lived for three decades at Lake Rotoiti followed by a short stint in

Gore Gore may refer to: Places Australia * Gore, Queensland * Gore Creek (New South Wales) * Gore Island (Queensland) Canada * Gore, Nova Scotia, a rural community * Gore, Quebec, a township municipality * Gore Bay, Ontario, a township on Manitouli ...

, before settling in Wedderburn in the 2020s.

References

*''Black Gold'' by Ron Palenski (2008, 2004 New Zealand Sports Hall of Fame, Dunedin) {{DEFAULTSORT:Foster, Stephanie 1958 births Living people Olympic rowers for New Zealand Rowers at the 1984 Summer Olympics Rowers at the 1986 Commonwealth Games Commonwealth Games gold medallists for New Zealand New Zealand Members of the Order of the British Empire New Zealand female rowers People from Morrinsville World Rowing Championships medalists for New Zealand Commonwealth Games medallists in rowing Sportspeople from Waikato 20th-century New Zealand women Medallists at the 1986 Commonwealth Games