Sarah Louise Rowell (born 19 November 1962) is a British former

long-distance runner Long-distance running, or endurance running, is a form of continuous running over distances of at least . Physiologically, it is largely Aerobic exercise, aerobic in nature and requires endurance, stamina as well as mental strength. Within e ...

. Born in Hostert,

North Rhine-Westphalia North Rhine-Westphalia (german: Nordrhein-Westfalen, ; li, Noordrien-Wesfale ; nds, Noordrhien-Westfalen; ksh, Noodrhing-Wäßßfaale), commonly shortened to NRW (), is a States of Germany, state (''Land'') in Western Germany. With more tha ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

, she ran 2:39:11 at the age of 20 at the 1983

London Marathon The London Marathon is an annual marathon held in London, United Kingdom, and is the 2nd largest annual road race in the UK, after the Great North Run in Newcastle. Founded by athletes Chris Brasher and John Disley in 1981, it is typically held ...

. Later that year she won the gold medal in the women's marathon at the 1983 Universiade in

Edmonton Edmonton ( ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Alberta. Edmonton is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Alberta's central region. The city ancho ...

. At the 1984 London marathon she improved her best to 2:31:28 to qualify for the British team for the

1984 Los Angeles Olympics The 1984 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXIII Olympiad and also known as Los Angeles 1984) were an international multi-sport event held from July 28 to August 12, 1984, in Los Angeles, California, United States. It marked the secon ...

. In the inaugural women's Olympic marathon, she finished 14th. She broke the British record when running her personal best for the marathon with 2:28:06, when finishing second behind

Ingrid Kristiansen Ingrid Kristiansen (née Christensen on 21 March 1956) is a Norwegian former athlete. She was one of the best female long-distance runners during the 1980s. She is a former world record holder in the 5000 metres, 10,000 metres and the marathon ...

at the 1985

. Later in her running career, Rowell was a prominent

fell runner Fell running, also sometimes known as hill running, is the sport of running and racing, off-road, over upland country where the gradient climbed is a significant component of the difficulty. The name arises from the origins of the English sport o ...

, winning the

Three Peaks Race The Three Peaks Race is a fell race held annually on the last weekend in April, starting and finishing in Horton in Ribblesdale. The course traverses the Yorkshire Three Peaks. The present distance is about 23 miles (37 km). The first kn ...

four times as well as

Wasdale Wasdale () is a valley and civil parish in the western part of the Lake District National Park in Cumbria, England. The River Irt flows through the valley to its estuary at Ravenglass. A large part of the main valley floor is occupied by Wastwa ...

Borrowdale Borrowdale is a valley and civil parish in the English Lake District in the Borough of Allerdale in Cumbria, England. It lies within the historic county boundaries of Cumberland. It is sometimes referred to as ''Cumberland Borrowdale'' t ...

and

Ben Nevis Ben Nevis ( ; gd, Beinn Nibheis ) is the highest mountain in Scotland Scotland (, ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland ...

. She finished second in the 1992 World Mountain Running Trophy and won both the

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

and

English Fell Running Championships The first English Fell Running Championships were held in the 1986 season, based on results in various fell races of different lengths over the year. The winners have been as follows. *All Jeska's athletics results were declared null and void w ...

in 1995 and 1996.Graham Breeze, "Laugh and be Happy: A Profile of Sarah Rowell", ''The Fellrunner'', Autumn 2008.

Achievements

References

1962 births Living people Sportspeople from Düsseldorf (region) British female long-distance runners English female long-distance runners British fell runners British female marathon runners English female marathon runners Olympic athletes of Great Britain Athletes (track and field) at the 1984 Summer Olympics Universiade medalists in athletics (track and field) British female mountain runners Universiade gold medalists for Great Britain Medalists at the 1983 Summer Universiade People from Viersen (district) {{England-athletics-bio-stub