Helene Raynsford (born 1979) is a British

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 ...

who competed at the

2008 Summer Paralympics The 2008 Summer Paralympic Games (), the 13th Summer Paralympic Games, took place in Beijing, China from September 6 to 17, 2008. As with the 2008 Summer Olympics, equestrian events were held in Hong Kong and sailing events in Qingdao. It was f ...

. She trained at the Royal Ballet School before an injury ended her chances of becoming a professional dancer. At university Raynsford studied biochemistry but a head injury at the age of 21 left her needing the use of a wheelchair. Helene completed a degree at Royal Holloway and is now undertaking a masters in neuroscience. She has returned to Royal Holloway as a guest speaker. Before taking up rowing Helene was a member of the Great Britain wheelchair basketball team from 2003 until 2006 and won two Paralympic Cup silver medals in the sport.

Rowing

Raynsford took up rowing after visiting

Dorney Lake Dorney Lake (also known as Eton College Rowing Centre, and as Eton Dorney as a 2012 Summer Olympics venue) is a purpose-built rowing lake in England. It is near the village of Dorney, Buckinghamshire, and is around 3 km (2 miles) west of ...

in 2005, before going on to join Guildford Rowing Club, where much of her early training was undertaken. She first competed in the national championships in 2005. In May 2006 she posted a qualifying time that earned her entry to the World Championships but her preparations were disrupted by a car accident that left her ribs and stomach badly bruised. Despite this she went on to win her heat and then the final to become world champion in the arms-only single sculls. At the 2007 World Championships she suffered an

asthma Asthma is a long-term inflammatory disease of the airways of the lungs. It is characterized by variable and recurring symptoms, reversible airflow obstruction, and easily triggered bronchospasms. Symptoms include episodes of wheezing, co ...

attack on the first day of the competition and finished fifth in the final. This qualified her for the 2008 Paralympics. At the 2008 Paralympic Games in Beijing, China, rowing made its debut appearance at the Games. Raynsford became the first ever Paralympic champion in the sport, winning the women's single sculls by a 12-second margin in a time of 6 minutes 12.93 seconds. In April 2010 Raynsford announced her retirement from rowing due to a

cardiac The heart is a muscular organ in most animals. This organ pumps blood through the blood vessels of the circulatory system. The pumped blood carries oxygen and nutrients to the body, while carrying metabolic waste such as carbon dioxide to t ...

problem. Following a change in her drug regime and surgery she returned to the sport and after winning the British trials was named to the British team for the 2010 World Championships in New Zealand. Raynsford was appointed to UK Anti-Doping's newly formed Athlete's Committee along with Paralympic swimmer Graham Edmunds, football player

Clarke Carlisle Clarke James Carlisle (born 14 October 1979) is an English former professional footballer who played as a defender and was chairman of the Professional Footballers' Association. Born in Preston, he began playing football at a young age, takin ...

and former England rugby union captain, Martin Corry.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Raynsford, Helene English female rowers Paralympic rowers of Great Britain Rowers at the 2008 Summer Paralympics Paralympic gold medalists for Great Britain 1979 births Living people Medalists at the 2008 Summer Paralympics Paralympic medalists in rowing