Kathleen Joan Heddle, (November 27, 1965January 11, 2021) was a Canadian

Olympic Olympic or Olympics may refer to Sports Competitions * Olympic Games, international multi-sport event held since 1896 ** Summer Olympic Games ** Winter Olympic Games * Ancient Olympic Games, ancient multi-sport event held in Olympia, Greece b ...

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 ...

. She and her long-time rowing partner

Marnie McBean Marnie Elizabeth McBean, (born January 28, 1968) is a Canadian former rower. She is a three-time Olympics gold medallist. Rowing career A graduate of the University of Western Ontario, McBean competed at the 1992 Summer Olympics in the coxless ...

were the first Canadians to be awarded three Olympic gold medals at the Summer Games. They also won a

silver Silver is a chemical element with the symbol Ag (from the Latin ', derived from the Proto-Indo-European ''h₂erǵ'': "shiny" or "white") and atomic number 47. A soft, white, lustrous transition metal, it exhibits the highest electrical ...

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 at the 1994 World Championships.

Early life

Heddle was born in

Trail, British Columbia Trail is a city in the West Kootenay region of the Interior of British Columbia, Canada. It was named after the Dewdney Trail, which passed through the area. The town was first called Trail Creek or Trail Creek Landing, and the name was shorte ...

, on November 27, 1965. Her father, Duncan, worked as a

mining Mining is the extraction of valuable minerals or other geological materials from the Earth, usually from an ore body, lode, vein, seam, reef, or placer deposit. The exploitation of these deposits for raw material is based on the economic ...

engineer; her mother, Marilyn (Buchanan), was a registered

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and

housewife A housewife (also known as a homemaker or a stay-at-home mother/mom/mum) is a woman whose role is running or managing her family's home—housekeeping, which includes caring for her children; cleaning and maintaining the home; making, buying an ...

. Heddle had two sisters (Libby and Peggy) and one brother (Murray). The family moved to the Kitsilano neighbourhood of

Vancouver Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...

when she was eight months old, and she graduated from

Kitsilano Secondary School , motto_translation = Let There Be Light , staff = 121 , founded = 1917 , schoolboard = School District 39 Vancouver , superintendent = Scott Robinson , director = Magdalena Kassis (Director ...

. Heddle went on to study

psychology Psychology is the scientific study of mind and behavior. Psychology includes the study of conscious and unconscious phenomena, including feelings and thoughts. It is an academic discipline of immense scope, crossing the boundaries between ...

at the

University of British Columbia The University of British Columbia (UBC) is a public research university with campuses near Vancouver and in Kelowna, British Columbia. Established in 1908, it is British Columbia's oldest university. The university ranks among the top thre ...

(UBC), obtaining a

bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Middle Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six ...

in 1990. Although she initially played

volleyball Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules. It has been a part of the official program of the Sum ...

and intended to make the

varsity team In most English-speaking countries, varsity is an abbreviation of the word ''university''. In the United States and Canada, the term is mostly used in relation to sports teams. Varsity in the United Kingdom In the United Kingdom, varsity team ...

, her interest in rowing was piqued when she passed by the team's booth while registering for courses during her

junior year A junior is person in the third year at an educational institution; usually at a secondary school or at the college and university level, but also in other forms of post-secondary educational institutions. In United States high schools, a junio ...

at the

War Memorial Gymnasium The War Memorial at the Sobrato Center in San Francisco, California is an athletic venue on the University of San Francisco (USF) campus. It contains War Memorial Gymnasium and serves as home for the San Francisco men's and women's basketball te ...

. She was selected in large part due to her height and rowed with the team for two years. During this time, she suffered extreme

anxiety Anxiety is an emotion which is characterized by an unpleasant state of inner turmoil and includes feelings of dread over anticipated events. Anxiety is different than fear in that the former is defined as the anticipation of a future threat wh ...

and apprehension during major races. Heddle was promoted to the national team in 1987, and won a gold medal in straight pairs at the Pan American Games that year.

Career

Heddle was part of the quartet that finished in fourth place in both the

1989 File:1989 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Cypress structure collapses as a result of the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake, killing motorists below; The proposal document for the World Wide Web is submitted; The Exxon Valdez oil tanker runs ...

and

1990 World Rowing Championships Year 199 ( CXCIX) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was sometimes known as year 952 ''Ab urbe condita''. The denomination 199 for this year has been used since the ...

. She was consequently paired with

by their coach. McBean was initially doubtful of their partnership, with her outgoing personality contrasting with Heddle's introversion. McBean interpreted this as a lack of ambition and competitiveness, and even went as far as to request a new partner. Their coach responded, "You do realize that Kathleen is the best rower on the team, and she's even better than you, Marnie". At the 1991 World Cup in Lucerne, their first major tournament together, they defeated the defending world champions in their opening race. The same year, they won a gold medal in straight pairs at the

World Championships A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game, ...

, and secured another gold as part of Canada's eights team. They replicated their performance at the

1992 Summer Olympics The 1992 Summer Olympics ( es, Juegos Olímpicos de Verano de 1992, ca, Jocs Olímpics d'estiu de 1992), officially known as the Games of the XXV Olympiad ( es, Juegos de la XXV Olimpiada, ca, Jocs de la XXV Olimpíada) and commonly known as ...

, winning gold medals in straight pairs and eights. Heddle took a one-year hiatus from the sport in 1993, and changed to sculling. On her return at the 1994 World Championships, she and McBean finished runners-up in double sculls. They improved on their result at the championships the following year, and also secured silver as part of the quad sculls team. Her final event before retiring was 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, ...

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, where she won a gold medal with McBean in

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 ...

and a bronze in the quad sculls. At the time of her death, she and McBean were the only Canadians to win three gold medals at the Summer Olympic Games.

Honours

Heddle was inducted into the

Canadian Olympic Hall of Fame The Canadian Olympic Hall of Fame is an honour roll of the top Canadian Olympic athletes, teams, coaches, and builders (officials, administrators, and volunteers). It was established in 1949. Selections are made by a committee appointed by the Cana ...

in 1994. Three years later, she was awarded the

Order of British Columbia The Order of British Columbia (french: Ordre de la Colombie-Britannique) is a civilian honour for merit in the Canadian province of British Columbia. Instituted in 1989 by Lieutenant Governor David Lam, on the advice of the Cabinet under Premier ...

, inducted into the

Canadian Sports Hall of Fame Canada's Sports Hall of Fame (french: Panthéon des sports canadiens; sometimes referred to as the Canadian Sports Hall of Fame) is a Canadian sports hall of fame and museum in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Dedicated to the history of sports in Canada, ...

, and named B.C. Athlete of the Year. She was also conferred the

Thomas Keller Medal The Thomas Keller Medal is given by the World Rowing Federation (FISA) for an outstanding international career in the sport of rowing. It is the highest honor in rowing and is awarded to any athlete within five years of his/her retirement from the ...

FISA The Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978 ("FISA" , ) is a United States federal law that establishes procedures for the physical and electronic surveillance and the collection of "foreign intelligence information" between "foreign pow ...

, the International Rowing Federation, for her outstanding career in international rowing in 1999. Heddle was enshrined into the

BC Sports Hall of Fame The BC Sports Hall of Fame is a museum located in BC Place Stadium, at Gate A, the main entrance to the stadium, in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. It collects, preserves, studies and interprets materials that relate to British Columbia's spo ...

in 2003. She was subsequently granted an honorary

doctorate of letters Doctor of Letters (D.Litt., Litt.D., Latin: ' or ') is a terminal degree in the humanities that, depending on the country, is a higher doctorate after the Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) degree or equivalent to a higher doctorate, such as the Doctor ...

by UBC (her alma mater) in November 2004.

Personal life

After retiring, Heddle moved to

Kerrisdale Kerrisdale is a neighbourhood in the city of Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Kerrisdale is a neighbourhood located in Vancouver's west side. It features a mix of newer houses and older bungalows as well as various low and mid-rise rental a ...

in Vancouver. She married Mike Bryden in October 2000. They had two children, one of whom also studied at UBC and joined its rowing team. Heddle died on January 11, 2021, at her home in

. She was 55, and had

breast cancer Breast cancer is cancer that develops from breast tissue. Signs of breast cancer may include a lump in the breast, a change in breast shape, dimpling of the skin, milk rejection, fluid coming from the nipple, a newly inverted nipple, or a r ...

and

lymphoma Lymphoma is a group of blood and lymph tumors that develop from lymphocytes (a type of white blood cell). In current usage the name usually refers to just the cancerous versions rather than all such tumours. Signs and symptoms may include enla ...

followed by melanoma and brain cancer in the six years preceding her death.

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Heddle, Kathleen 1965 births 2021 deaths Deaths from cancer in British Columbia Members of the Order of British Columbia Sportspeople from British Columbia Olympic gold medalists for Canada Olympic bronze medalists for Canada Olympic rowers of Canada Rowers at the 1992 Summer Olympics Rowers at the 1996 Summer Olympics Canadian female rowers University of British Columbia alumni Olympic medalists in rowing Medalists at the 1992 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 1996 Summer Olympics Pan American Games medalists in rowing Pan American Games gold medalists for Canada Thomas Keller Medal recipients Rowers at the 1987 Pan American Games Medalists at the 1987 Pan American Games 20th-century Canadian women