Virginia Lee (born 6 April 1965) is an Australian former rower. She was a four-time national champion, a 1992 world champion, a dual Olympian and an Olympic bronze medallist who competed in both sweep oared and sculling events in the lightweight division.
Club and state rowing
Lee was born in
Sydney
Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...
, Australia. Her senior rowing was from the
Mosman Rowing Club
Mosman Rowing Club is an all-level competitive and recreational rowing club on the North Shore of Sydney. Since 2007 the club's facilities have been wholly located at The Spit in Sydney's Middle Harbour, the northern arm of Port Jackson.
Merc ...
in Sydney.
On eight occasions from 1986 to 1996 she represented New South Wales, racing for the Women's
Lightweight Four Championship (the Victoria Cup) at 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 ...
. Her crews won the championship in 1995 and 1996. They crossed the line first in 1988 but were disqualified for a doping infringement.
In 1995 and again in 2000 Lee won the Australian national lightweight single sculls title.
National representative rowing
World championships
She was selected to national representative honours for the
1986
The year 1986 was designated as the International Year of Peace by the United Nations.
Events January
* January 1
** Aruba gains increased autonomy from the Netherlands by separating from the Netherlands Antilles.
**Spain and Portugal ente ...
and
1987 World Rowing Championships
The 1987 World Rowing Championships were World Rowing Championships that were held from 29 to 30 August 1987 in Copenhagen, Denmark while it was "outrageously windy".
Medal summary
Medalists at the 1987 World Rowing Championships were:
Men's ...
in the women's lightweight
four
4 (four) is a number, numeral and digit. It is the natural number following 3 and preceding 5. It is the smallest semiprime and composite number, and is considered unlucky in many East Asian cultures.
In mathematics
Four is the smallest c ...
who came fourth both times.
At the
1992 World Rowing Championships
The 1992 World Rowing Championships were World Rowing Championships that were held from 13 to 16 August 1992 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Since 1992 was an Olympic year for rowing, the World Championships did not include Olympic events schedule ...
in
Montreal
Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...
, Canada, she won a world championship in the lightweight four, with
Marina Cade
Marina Cade (born 9 September 1969 in Melbourne) is an Australian former representative rower. A lightweight sweep oar rower and later a sculler, her senior rowing was with the Melbourne University Boat Club. She was a 1992 world champion.
Club ...
,
Deirdre Fraser
Deirdre Fraser is an Australian former World Champion lightweight rower.
Club and state rowing
Fraser took up rowing in 1986 at the Bendigo Rowing Club and rowed for that club until 1990. When she began to represent at state and national level ...
, and
Liz Moller
Elizabeth Moller is an Australian former World Champion lightweight rower.
Club and state rowing
Moller rowed from Canberra in the Australian Capital Territory (ACT) for the Canberra Rowing Club. She first raced at the Australian Rowing Champi ...
.
At the next world championships in
Račice 1993, her Australian lightweight four finished in fourth place. The following year at
Indianapolis 1994, she raced in a lightweight
double scull
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 s ...
which finished seventh.
At the
1995 World Rowing Championships in
Tampere
Tampere ( , , ; sv, Tammerfors, ) is a city in the Pirkanmaa region, located in the western part of Finland. Tampere is the most populous inland city in the Nordic countries. It has a population of 244,029; the urban area has a population o ...
, Finland, Lee was again part of the lightweight four, but the boat did not start.
At those same championships she also competed in the lightweight women's
double scull
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 s ...
with Joanne Morgan and where they placed fourth.
At the
1999 World Rowing Championships in
St. Catharines,
Ontario
Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...
, Canada, she partnered with
Sally Newmarch
Sally Newmarch (born 2 June 1975), now known as Sally Callie, is an Australian former rower – a four-time national champion, a medal winning national representative who competed at World Rowing Championships from 1993 to 2004 and a three time ...
in the lightweight double scull to win a bronze medal.
Olympics
At the
1996 Summer 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, ...
in
Atlanta
Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...
, USA, she partnered with
Rebecca Joyce
Rebecca Susan Joyce (born 12 September 1970 in Melbourne) is an Australian former rower, a sculler in the lightweight division. She was a five-time national champion, a 1995 world champion and Olympic medal winner.
Club and state rowing
Joyce ...
and won bronze in the
lightweight women's double sculls.
At the
2000 Summer 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 ...
in her home city of Sydney, she again competed with Newmarch in a lightweight double scull and they came fourth.
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lee, Virginia
1965 births
Living people
Australian female rowers
Sportswomen from New South Wales
Rowers at the 1996 Summer Olympics
Rowers at the 2000 Summer Olympics
Olympic bronze medalists for Australia
Olympic medalists in rowing
Rowers from Sydney
Medalists at the 1996 Summer Olympics
Commonwealth Games medallists in rowing
Commonwealth Games silver medallists for Australia
World Rowing Championships medalists for Australia
Rowers at the 1986 Commonwealth Games
20th-century Australian women
21st-century Australian women
Medallists at the 1986 Commonwealth Games