Brooke Pratley (born 6 April 1980 in

Goulburn, New South Wales Goulburn ( ) is a regional city in the Southern Tablelands of the Australian state of New South Wales, approximately south-west of Sydney, and north-east of Canberra. It was proclaimed as Australia's first inland city through letters patent ...

) is an Australian former rower. She is an Australian national champion, a world champion, a dual Olympian and an Olympic medal-winner. Together with

Kim Crow Kimberley Jean "Kim" Brennan (née Crow; born 9 August 1985) is a retired Australian rower. She is a sixteen-time national champion, two-time World Champion, three-time Olympian and Olympic gold medallist. Personal Crow was born in Melbourne ...

, she won a silver medal at the

2012 Olympic Games 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 ...

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

Club and state rowing

Pratley's senior club rowing was done from the Sydney University Women's Boat Club. She was awarded a scholarship to the

Australian Institute of Sport The Australian Institute of Sport (AIS) is a high performance sports training institution in Australia. The Institute's headquarters were opened in 1981 and are situated in the northern suburb of Bruce, Canberra. The AIS is a division of the ...

prior to the 2008 Olympics. Pratley made New South Wales made state selection contesting the Women's Interstate Sculling Championship (the Nell Slatter Trophy) 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 ...

in 2005. On five occasions from 2006 to 2011 Pratley rowed in the New South Wales senior women's eight contesting the Queen's Cup at the Australian Championships. In

Sydney University The University of Sydney (USYD), also known as Sydney University, or informally Sydney Uni, is a public research university located in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in Australia and is one of the country's six ...

colours she contested Australian national titles at the

on a number of occasions. In 2006 and 2007 she raced in all three sculling boats - the single, the double and the quad as well as being seated at six in New South Wales composite eights. She won the Australian national title in the quad scull in 2006. In 2008 she competed in the quad, in a pair and in a composite Australian selection eight which won the open women's eight national championship.

International representative rowing

Pratley made her debut representative appearance for Australia in a single scull at the 2006 Rowing World Cup III in Lucerne.Pratley at World Rowing
/ref> A month later with

Elizabeth Kell Elizabeth Kell (born 9 July 1983 in Sydney) is an Australian former rower, a national champion, world champion and an Olympian. Club and state rowing Kell was educated at MLC School in Burwood, Sydney where she took up rowing. Her senior club ...

she took a double scull to the

2006 World Rowing Championships The 2006 World Rowing Championships were World Rowing Championships that were held from 20 to 27 August 2006 at Dorney Lake, Eton, Great Britain. Medal summary Men Non-Olympic classes Women Non-Olympic classes Wettbewerbe des Pararuderns ...

at Eton Dorney. In exciting racing they fought off their fancied British rivals

Georgina Georgina may refer to: Names *Georgina (name), a feminine given name Places Australia * Georgina, Queensland, a locality in the Shire of Boulia, Queensland * Georgina Basin, a large sedimentary basin in Australia * Georgina River, a river ...

and

Caroline Evers-Swindell Caroline Frances Meyer (née Evers-Swindell, born 10 October 1978), is a New Zealand former rower. She competed in the double sculls with her identical twin sister Georgina Evers-Swindell. In November 2005 she and her sister were named ''Rowi ...

(who had dominated the event from 2002 to 2005) to lead at the half-way point and hold on for an 0.8seconds victory over Germany. In an upset Kell and Pratley claimed their first and only senior world championship title. For the

2007 World Rowing Championships The 2007 World Rowing Championships were World Rowing Championships that were held from 26 August to 2 September 2007 at Oberschleißheim Regatta Course near Munich, Germany. Medal summary Men's events Non-Olympic classes Women's events No ...

Pratley was selected to race the Australian quad scull with Amy Ives,

Catriona Sens Catriona Sens (née Oliver) (born 2 April 1980 in Sale, Victoria) is an Australian former representative rower. She was a national champion, an underage 2002 world champion, a dual Olympian and won a silver medal at the 2006 World Rowing C ...

and

Sonia Mills Sonia Mills (born 24 January 1980) is an Australian former rower – an Australian national champion, world champion and an Olympian. She had world championship success in both sculls and in sweep-oared boat classes. She competed in the women's ...

. They placed fourth in Munich 2007. In the Olympic year of 2008 Pratley moved into contention for sweep-oared boats. She was picked for the Australian women's eight for the World Rowing Cup II of 2008 at Lucerne and then was in the two seat of the

women's eight An eight is a rowing boat used in the sport of competitive rowing (crew). It is designed for eight rowers, who propel the boat with sweep oars, and is steered by a coxswain, or "cox". Each of the eight rowers has one oar. The rowers, who sit in ...

for

Beijing 2008 The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and also known as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes from 204 Nat ...

. They placed sixth. In 2010 Pratley moved back into sculls. At the

2010 World Rowing Championships The 2010 World Rowing Championships were World Rowing Championships that were held from 31 October to 7 November 2010 on Lake Karapiro near Cambridge, New Zealand. The annual week-long rowing regatta was organised by FISA (the International Rowi ...

in Lake Karapiro she raced in the Australian

quad scull A quadruple sculling boat, often simply called a quad and abbreviated 4x, is a rowing boat used in the sport of competitive rowing. It is designed for four people who propel the boat by sculling with two oars, or "sculls", one in each hand. Rac ...

with

Sally Kehoe Sally Kehoe (born 25 September 1986) is an Australian former representative rower who was a national champion, three-time Olympian and a representative at multiple world championships. Since 2014 she has held the world-record time in the women' ...

Kerry Hore Kerry Hore (born 3 July 1981) is an Australian former rower, a national champion, world-champion and four-time Olympian who competed in the women's quadruple sculls at the 2004, 2008, 2012 and 2016 Summer Olympics. She was in Australian quad ...

and

to a fourth placing. Hore and Crow moved into a double scull in 2011 and

Amy Clay Amy Clay (born 14 December 1977) is an American born, Australian representative rower. She was selected to represent Australia at the 2008 Summer Olympics and the 2012 Summer Olympics in rowing. Personal Nicknamed Ames, Clay was born on 14 Dec ...

and Sarah Cook were added to the quad. They raced at the World Rowing Cup III in Lucerne and then 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 ...

in Eton Dorney where they finished fourth. In the Olympic year 2012

was moved back into the quad and Pratley was given the opportunity to race the Australian 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 Australia's prominent sculler

. They raced in the lead-up at the World Rowing Cup III in Munich and then at the

2012 London 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 ...

they won their heat and raced to a silver medal in the final beaten out by the British double of

Anna Watkins Anna Rose Watkins MBE PhD ( Bebington, born 13 February 1983) is a British rower. A double Olympian, Watkins won a bronze medal at the 2008 Summer Olympics, and a gold medal at the 2012 Summer Olympics, both in the double sculls. She has also ...

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 ...

. It was Pratley's last Australian representative appearance.

Post rowing

Pratley officially announced her retirement from competitive rowing immediately after winning a silver medal at the

London Olympics 2012 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 ...

on 6 August 2012. As of 2018 she practices as a sports physiotherapist in Queensland.

References

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Pratley, Brooke 1980 births Living people Sportspeople from Goulburn Australian female rowers Rowers at the 2008 Summer Olympics Rowers at the 2012 Summer Olympics Olympic medalists in rowing Olympic silver medalists for Australia Medalists at the 2012 Summer Olympics World Rowing Championships medalists for Australia Sportswomen from New South Wales 21st-century Australian women