Kim Crow

Nickname

Kimmy. (Rowing Australia 20 Jul 2007)

Hobbies

Going out for breakfast and reading the newspaper. (rowingaustralia.com.au, 08 Nov 2010)

Occupation

Legal Professional, Student, Writer

Education

Media and Communications - Melbourne University, Melbourne, VIC, AUS

Language(s) spoken

English

Club name

Melbourne University Boat Club, Melbourne, VIC, AUS

Coach

Lyall McCarthy (rowingqld.asn.au, 25 Apr 2011, rowingaustralia.com.au, 22 Feb 2012)

Sporting relatives

Before taking up rowing she competed for the Victorian Institute of Sport, running in the 400m hurdles and 800m events. (Australian NOC, 24 May 2006)

Other sports

Her father Max played over 200 games of Australian rules football for Essendon, St Kilda and Footscray. (rowingaustralia.org.au; 07 Nov 2010, beijing2008.olympics.com.au, 01 Jun 2008)

Debut

2006 for Australia (rowingone.com, 04 Sep 2011; beijing2008.olympics.com.au, 01 Jun 2008)

Injuries

She was forced to give up her athletics career in 2005 because of a series of stress fractures in her foot. (Australian NOC, 24 May 2006)

Additional information

Start of sporting career
She began the sport in 2005. (Rowing Australia, 20 Jul 2007)

Reason for taking up this sport
She was forced into rowing by injuries she sustained while training and competing in athletics. (Australian NOC, 20 Jun 2007)

Ambitions
To win gold at the 2012 London Olympics and become a lawyer. (ausport.gov.au; 04 Sep 2011; vis.org.au, 11 Mar 2012; australianboatrace.com, 26 Sep 2011)

Most memorable sporting achievement
Representing Australia at the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, and winning a silver medal in the double sculls at the 2010 and 2011 World Rowing Championships in Lake Karapiro. (ausport.gov.au, 25 Sep 2011)

Hero
Australian aerial skier Alisa Camplin, Australian rower James Tomkins and Australian kayaker Clint Robinson. (Rowing Australia 20 Jul 2007; rowingaustralia.com.au, 08 Nov 2010)

Sporting philosophy / motto
"Just because it has never been done before doesn't mean it can't be done." (beijing2008.olympics.com.au, 01 Jun 2008)

Awards
In 2008 she was the University of Melbourne Sport Association's Female Athlete of the Year. (sport.unimelb.edu.au, 08 Apr 2008)

General
FROM ATHLETICS TO ROWING
She was forced into rowing by injuries sustained while training and competing in athletics. She was doing rehabilitation training when someone from the Victorian Institute of Sports' Talent Identification Programme told her she should try rowing. At that point the only experience she had with the sport was watching it on television. "When I began [rowing] I didn't realise how hard it was going to be," she said. "The training is very difficult, there's a lot more cardio and long-distance work which I found difficult in the beginning." (Australian NOC, 20 Jul 2007)

HIGH ACHIEVER
She has managed to achieve a lot outside of her rowing career. In 2005 she got a perfect score [99.95] in her Victorian Education Certificate [high school leaving exam], which she claims is one of her greatest achievements. During her time studying a Bachelor of Law and Media Communication at the University of Melbourne, she managed to balance both her training and university commitments maintaining a high distinction average and winning a series of awards for academic achievement. In 2009 she completed a law internship at the International Olympic Committee headquarters in Switzerland. She also regularly writes sports columns for The Age newspaper in Melbourne. (rowingaustralia.com.au, 07 Nov 2010; rowingaustralia.com.au, 16 Nov 2009; theage.com.au, 08 Jan 2012)

COMMUNITY
She has been involved as a volunteer for the Salvation Army's Red Shield Appeal. She has also been an Olympic Education Ambassador, Problem Gambling Ambassador and part of the Athlete Legal Aid Committee. (ausport.gov.au, 25 May 2011)

Previous Olympics

Beijing 2008