Victoria Thornley (born 30 November 1987) is a Welsh rower. She won a silver medal for Great Britain with Katherine Grainger in the women's

double sculls A double scull is a rowing boat used in the sport of competitive rowing. It is designed for two persons who propel the boat by sculling with two oars each, one in each hand. Racing boats (often called "shells") are long, narrow, and broadly ...

at the

2016 Summer Olympics The 2016 Summer Olympics ( pt, Jogos Olímpicos de Verão de 2016), officially the Games of the XXXI Olympiad ( pt, Jogos da XXXI Olimpíada) and also known as Rio 2016, was an international multi-sport event held from 5 to 21 August 20 ...

. She was also a member of the Great Britain team that finished fifth in the women's eight at the

2012 Summer Olympics The 2012 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012) was an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...

, and finished fourth in the

single sculls 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

2020 Summer Olympics 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 ...

Early life and education

Thornley was born in St Asaph to Andrew and Gina Thornley, and was brought up in

Wrexham Wrexham ( ; cy, Wrecsam; ) is a city and the administrative centre of Wrexham County Borough in Wales. It is located between the Welsh mountains and the lower Dee Valley, near the border with Cheshire in England. Historically in the count ...

. She has two sisters. After completing her secondary education at

Bishop Heber High School Bishop Heber High School is a comprehensive secondary school in Malpas, Cheshire, England. The school is named after bishop Reginald Heber (1783–1826), who was born in Malpas and is remembered as a hymn-writer. In 2011, the school was rated o ...

, she went on to study Business Management at the University of Bath and graduate from the GB Rowing Team Start programme. Before rowing, Thornley was a national championship winning show jumper, having participated since the age of twelve. She also briefly worked as a fashion model.

Rowing career

Thornley began her sporting career through the "Sporting Giants" programme, becoming the first of the scheme's graduates to win a gold medal when she was successful at the 2009 World Under-23 Championships. She was part of the British squad that topped the medal table at the

2011 World Rowing Championships The 2011 World Rowing Championships were World Rowing Championships that were held from 28 August to 4 September 2011 at Lake Bled in the Slovenian city of Bled. The annual week-long rowing regatta is organized by World Rowing Federation Worl ...

Bled 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 C ...

, where she won a bronze medal as part of the eight with Alison Knowles,

Jo Cook Jo Cook (born 22 March 1984) is a former British rower. Rowing career Cook began rowing in 1996 at Lady Eleanor Holles School. In 2000, she competed at the 20024 and 2005 World Rowing U23 Championships. She made her senior debut in 2009. She w ...

Jessica Eddie Jessica Jane Eddie (born 7 October 1984 in Durham) is a British rower. She won a silver medal in the women's eight at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro. Rowing 2011 She was part of the British squad that topped the medal table at the 20 ...

Louisa Reeve Louisa Reeve (born 16 May 1984 in London) is a British rower who competed at the 2008 Summer Olympics and 2012 Summer Olympics. Rowing career Along with Olivia Whitlam she finished 6th in the women's coxless pair at the 2008 Summer Olympics. ...

Natasha Page Natasha Nicole Page (born 30 April 1985 in Gloucester) is a British rower who competed at the 2008 Summer Olympics and the 2012 Summer Olympics. Rowing career She finished fifth in the women's eight at the 2008 Olympic Games. She was part of ...

, Lindsey Maguire, Katie Greves and Caroline O'Connor. In the

, she was partnered with Katherine Grainger in the women's double sculls, in which they took the silver medal. In June 2017 Thornley won the gold medal for women's single sculls in the European Rowing Championship at Račice. She won a silver medal at the

2017 World Rowing Championships The 2017 World Rowing Championships were the 47th edition of the World Rowing Championships that were held from 24 September to 1 October 2017 in Sarasota, Florida. Host selection During 2013, Plovdiv and Sarasota, Florida both applied to hos ...

Sarasota, Florida Sarasota () is a city in Sarasota County on the Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. The area is renowned for its cultural and environmental amenities, beaches, resorts, and the Sarasota School of Architecture. The city is located in the sout ...

in the

. In 2021, she won a European silver medal in the single sculls 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. She then finished 4th in the single sculls final at the

Tokyo 2020 Olympics 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 1 ...

. . Thornley announced her retirement from rowing in November 2021.

Personal life

In 2020, Thornley married retired Olympic rower Ric Edgington.

References

External links

*
Victoria Thornley
at

British Rowing British Rowing, formerly the Amateur Rowing Association (ARA), is the national governing body for the sport of rowing (both indoor and on-water rowing). It is responsible for the training and selection of individual rowers and crews representin ...

* * 1987 births Living people Sportspeople from St Asaph Welsh female rowers Members of Leander Club Rowers at the 2012 Summer Olympics Rowers at the 2016 Summer Olympics Rowers at the 2020 Summer Olympics Olympic rowers of Great Britain Medalists at the 2016 Summer Olympics Olympic silver medallists for Great Britain Olympic medalists in rowing World Rowing Championships medalists for Great Britain European Rowing Championships medalists {{UK-rowing-bio-stub