Katherine Grainger

Hobbies

Studying crime. She was a member of a juggling club at university. (SIS, 16 Jan 2007; dailymail.co.uk, 2011)

Occupation

Athlete, Motivational Speaker, Student

Education

Law - Edinburgh University, Edinburgh, GBR

Language(s) spoken

English

Club name

St Andrew Boat Club, Edinburgh, GBR

Coach

Paul Thompson [national] (GBR) from 2001 (britishrowing.org, 22 Dec 2011)

Sporting relatives

She has a black belt in karate. (worldrowing.com, 25 Jan 2010)

Debut

1997 for Great Britain (BOA, 16 Jan 2007)

Additional information

Start of sporting career
Started rowing in 1993 at Edinburgh University. (guardian.co.uk, 20 Aug 2006)

Reason for taking up this sport
During a "Freshers' Fair" at Edinburgh University someone from the rowing club commented that she had the physique for rowing, so she gave it a try. (guardian.co.uk, 20 Aug 2006)

Ambitions
To win her first Olympic gold medal at the 2012 Games in London. She has three silver medals from three prior Olympic appearances. Away from sport she would like to interview serial killer Peter Sutcliffe [dubbed the Yorkshire Ripper] for her PhD thesis on homicide. (channel4.com, 06 Feb 2012; dailymail.co.uk, 21 Apr 2011)

Training
She does up to two hours of training in the water each morning followed by a session on the rowing machine. Then in the afternoon she will do a weights workout. (channel4.com, 06 Feb 2012)

Most memorable sporting achievement
"I was over the moon finishing second in Sydney [Olympics] in 2000. I could not have been happier if we had won gold. I hugged everyone. For me, second was not a lost gold. I won silver and made history." (dailymail.co.uk, 21 Apr 2011)


Most influential person in career
Irene McTernan [Edinburgh University Sports Union secretary] and Ron Needs [her first International coach]. (telegraph.co.uk, 08 Jun 2011)

Sporting philosophy / motto
"When you go on the start line, especially at something like the world championships, even more so the Olympics, there's an incredible sort of exquisite mixture of terror and fear and excitement and passion and emotion, and everything you've done for days on end, weeks on end, for months, for years gets put into a six-minute race." (guardian.co.uk, 20 Aug 2011)

"I have never taken the view that first is first and second is nowhere. It is not as simple as that. There are different circumstances every time." (dailymail.co.uk, 21 Apr 2011)

"You only live once, but if you get it right once is enough." (gla.ac.uk, 03 Jan 2010)

Awards
With three Olympic silver medals and four world championship titles to her name she is Britain's most successful female rower as of 2011. (katherinegrainger.com, 28 Jan 2011)

In 2010 she was awarded an honorary Doctor of Law degree by the Robert Gordon University of Aberdeen. (katherinegrainger.com, 01 Jan 2011)

In December 2010 she was inducted into the Aberdeen Sports Council Sporting Hall of Fame. (katherinegrainger.com, 01 Jan 2011)

She is the Honorary President of the Scottish Amateur Rowing Association. (cgcs.org.uk, 25 Jan 2010)

In 2009 she was named the Scottish Sportsperson of the Year. (cgcs.org.uk, 25 Jan 2010)

In 2009, she was awarded the 'Emirates Lonsdale Trophy' by Commonwealth Games Scotland, becoming the first female to win the prestigious award. (katherinegrainger., 01 Jan 2011)

She was a part of the British women's quad that was named the 2007 World Rowing Female Crew of the Year. (World Rowing, 12 Nov 2007)

In 2006 she was awarded an MBE for her services to rowing. (GB Rowing, 01 Aug 2007)

With her coxless pair partner Cath Bishop, she won the Sunday Times' Sportswomen of the Year team prize in 2003. (Scottish Rowing, 04 Dec 2003)

In winning silver at the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney in the quadruple scull, her team became the first ever British women's crew to win an Olympic medal. (British Rowing, 25 Mar 2003)

General
REALITY TV STAR
She participated in BBC One's reality TV show, Superstars, which pits top athletes against each other in a range of challenges resembling a decathlon. She picked up the silver medal in the women's competition. (St Andrews Boat Club, 20 Feb 2004)

LAW EDUCATION
Following her undergraduate law studies at Edinburgh University, she completed a Masters of Medical Law and Medical Ethics at Glasgow University, and has proceeded to undertake a PhD in Homicide at King's College, University of London. In 2010 she was awarded an honorary Doctor of Law degree by the Robert Gordon University of Aberdeen. (katherinegrainger.com, 01 Jan 2011)

CHANGING EVENTS
She made her international debut in 1997 as a rower but then switched her focus to sculling for the 1998 season. In 2001 she returned to sweep-oar and teamed up with experienced pairs rower Cath Bishop. (British Rowing, 25 Mar 2003)

Previous Olympics

Beijing 2008, Athens 2004, Sydney 2000