Julia Edward (born 20 February 1991) is a 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 ...

, a two time world champion in the women's lightweight double sculls.

Career

In 2010, she won silver in the lightweight double sculls at the U23 world championships with Lucy Strack. A year later, she won bronze in the same event with Alyce Pulford. She competed with Louise Ayling 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 ...

. Together with

Sophie MacKenzie Sophie MacKenzie (born 31 March 1992) is a New Zealand Olympic rower and, together with Julia Edward, double world champion in lightweight double sculls. Private life MacKenzie was born in 1992 and grew up in the Waihopai Valley. Her parents ar ...

, she was world champion in the lightweight double scull for two years in a row; first at the

2014 World Rowing Championships The 2014 World Rowing Championships were the 44th edition of the World Rowing Championships and were held from 24 to 31 August 2014 at Bosbaan, Amsterdam in the Netherlands, the second occasion on which the event had been held in Amsterdam, or ...

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the Capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population ...

, and then at the

2015 World Rowing Championships The 2015 World Rowing Championships were World Rowing Championships that were held from 30 August to 6 September 2015 at Lac d'Aiguebelette, Aiguebelette in France. Description The annual week-long rowing regatta was organized by FISA (the Int ...

in Aiguebelette. The 2016 rowing year did not start out that successful for Edward and MacKenzie, and at both

World Rowing Cup The World Rowing Cup is an international rowing competition organized by FISA (the International Rowing Federation). It began in 1997 and comprises three regattas (apart from in 2001 when there were four) held throughout early summer. In each even ...

s that New Zealand attended that year, they came third, beaten by different nations at those regattas. When they competed 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 ...

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro ( , , ; literally 'River of January'), or simply Rio, is the capital of the state of the same name, Brazil's third-most populous state, and the second-most populous city in Brazil, after São Paulo. Listed by the GaWC as a b ...

later that year, they came fourth in the

lightweight 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 s ...

, which was disappointing to them. Some time after the Olympics, they both announced that they would take a year off rowing. Both will also take the 2018 rowing season off, but neither has announced their retirement.

References

Living people 1991 births New Zealand female rowers Rowers at the 2012 Summer Olympics Olympic rowers for New Zealand World Rowing Championships medalists for New Zealand Rowers at the 2016 Summer Olympics Massey University alumni People educated at Rotorua Girls' High School 21st-century New Zealand women {{NewZealand-rowing-bio-stub