Sarah Louise Rowell (born 19 November 1962) is a German born, 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 stamina as well as mental strength. Within endurance ru ...

who competed at the

1984 Summer Olympics The 1984 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXIII Olympiad and commonly 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 ...

Biography

Born in Hostert,

North Rhine-Westphalia North Rhine-Westphalia or North-Rhine/Westphalia, commonly shortened to NRW, is a States of Germany, state () in Old states of Germany, Western Germany. With more than 18 million inhabitants, it is the List of German states by population, most ...

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

London Marathon The London Marathon (also known as the TCS London Marathon for sponsorship reasons) is an annual marathon held in London, England. Founded by athletes Chris Brasher and John Disley in 1981, it is typically held in April, although it moved to Oct ...

. 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 Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Alberta. It is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Central Alberta ...

. Also in 1983, Rowell finished third behind Glynis Penny in the marathon event at the 1983 WAAA Championships. 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. In the inaugural women's Olympic marathon, she finished 14th. At the 1984 WAAA Championships, Rowell second behind finished Priscilla Welch. Rowell broke the British record when running her personal best for the marathon with 2:28:06, when finishing second behind Ingrid Kristiansen at the 1985

. Rowell also became British marathon champion after winning the British WAAA Championships title at the 1985 WAAA Championships. Later in her running career, Rowell was a prominent fell runner, winning the Three Peaks Race four times, the Fellsman three times, as well as Wasdale,

Borrowdale Borrowdale is a valley and civil parish in the English Lake District in Cumberland (unitary authority), Cumberland, England. It is in the ceremonial county of Cumbria, and is sometimes referred to as ''Cumberland Borrowdale'' to distinguis ...

and

Ben Nevis Ben Nevis ( ; , ) is the highest mountain in Scotland, the United Kingdom, and the British Isles. Ben Nevis stands at the western end of the Grampian Mountains in the Highland region of Lochaber, close to the town of Fort William. The mount ...

. 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. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

and English Fell Running Championships 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 Athletes from Düsseldorf (region) English female long-distance runners British female long-distance runners British fell runners English female marathon runners British female marathon runners Olympic athletes for Great Britain Athletes (track and field) at the 1984 Summer Olympics Universiade medalists in athletics (track and field) British female mountain runners FISU World University Games gold medalists for Great Britain Medalists at the 1983 Summer Universiade People from Viersen (district) 20th-century English sportswomen {{England-longdistance-athletics-bio-stub