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Victoria Thornley

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Vicky Thornley
Personal information
NationalityBritish
Born (1987-11-30) 30 November 1987 (age 36)
St Asaph, Denbighshire, Wales
Years active2007–
Height6 ft 4 in (193 cm)
Weight77 kg (170 lb)
Sport
CountryGreat Britain
SportRowing
EventDouble sculls
ClubLeander Club
Turned pro2009
Medal record
Women's rowing
Representing  Great Britain
Olympic Games
Silver medal – second place 2016 Rio de Janeiro Double sculls
World Championships
Bronze medal – third place 2011 Bled Eight
Silver medal – second place 2017 Sarasota Single sculls
European Championships
Bronze medal – third place 2015 Poznań Double sculls
Gold medal – first place 2017 Račice Single sculls
Silver medal – second place 2021 Varese Single sculls

Victoria Thornley (born 30 November 1987) is a British rower. She won a silver medal for Great Britain with Katherine Grainger in the women's double sculls at the 2016 Summer Olympics. She was also a member of the Great Britain team that finished fifth in the women's eight at the 2012 Summer Olympics,[2][3] and finished fourth in the single sculls at the 2020 Summer Olympics.

Early life and education

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Thornley was born in St Asaph to Andrew and Gina Thornley, and was brought up in Wrexham. She has two sisters. After completing her secondary education at Bishop Heber High School, she went on to study Business Management at the University of Bath and graduate from the GB Rowing Team Start programme.[4]

Before rowing, Thornley was a national championship winning show jumper, having participated since the age of twelve. She also briefly worked as a fashion model.[5][6][7]

Rowing career

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Thornley began her sporting career through the "Sporting Giants" programme, becoming the first of the scheme's graduates to win a gold medal when she was successful at the 2009 World Under-23 Championships.[8]

She was part of the British squad that topped the medal table at the 2011 World Rowing Championships in Bled, where she won a bronze medal as part of the eight with Alison Knowles, Jo Cook, Jessica Eddie, Louisa Reeve, Natasha Page, Lindsey Maguire, Katie Greves and Caroline O'Connor.[9]

In the 2016 Summer Olympics, she was partnered with Katherine Grainger in the women's double sculls,[10] in which they took the silver medal.[11]

In June 2017 Thornley won the gold medal for women's single sculls in the European Rowing Championship at Račice.[12] She won a silver medal at the 2017 World Rowing Championships in Sarasota, Florida in the single sculls.[13]

In 2021, she won a European silver medal in the single sculls in Varese, Italy.[14] She then finished 4th in the single sculls final at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics. .[15]

Thornley announced her retirement from rowing in November 2021.[16]

Personal life

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In 2020, Thornley married retired Olympic rower Richard Egington.[17][18]

References

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  1. ^ "MAABC Women's Senior squad shows quality and depth – British Rowing". 28 July 2009.
  2. ^ "Victoria Thornley". www.london2012.com. Archived from the original on 6 September 2012. Retrieved 5 September 2012.
  3. ^ Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Victoria Thornley". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 4 December 2016.
  4. ^ "Vicky Thornley strikes European gold as Bath Start rowers make international debuts in Racice". 28 May 2017.
  5. ^ Longmore, Andrew. "Vicky Thornley: Quick change model".
  6. ^ "Welsh Olympic rower Vicky Thornley proves she is best of British". 20 April 2014.
  7. ^ "Biography".
  8. ^ "Victoria Thornley". British Rowing. Retrieved 9 August 2016.
  9. ^ "2011 World Rowing Championships". WorldRowing.com. World Rowing Federation. Archived from the original on 19 March 2016. Retrieved 20 August 2020.
  10. ^ "Vicky Thornley insists there are no excuses over rough Rio rowing conditions". WalesOnline. 6 August 2016. Retrieved 9 August 2016.
  11. ^ "Rio Olympics 2016: Katherine Grainger and Victoria Thornley win double sculls silver". BBC Sport. BBC. 11 August 2016. Retrieved 11 August 2016.
  12. ^ "European Rowing Championships: Vicky Thornley wins gold for Britain". BBC Sport. BBC. 18 June 2017. Retrieved 19 June 2017.
  13. ^ "World Rowing Championships: Britain's Vicky Thornley wins silver on final day". BBC Sport. 4 November 2021. Retrieved 30 November 2021.
  14. ^ "Women's Single Sculls Final A (Final)". World Rowing. Retrieved 11 June 2021.
  15. ^ "Tokyo Olympics: GB's rower Vicky Thornley misses out on bronze medal in single sculls". BBC Sport.
  16. ^ "Vicky Thornley: Welsh Olympic rower announces retirement". BBC Sport.
  17. ^ "Rowing couple finally tie the knot".
  18. ^ "Tokyo is my last chance for gold... Then I'm getting married".
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