Dame Katherine Grainger, DBE
With Olympic gold from London 2012 alongside Anna Watkins, and silver medals from Sydney, Athens, Beijing and Rio, Katherine is the first British woman to win medals at five successive Olympic Games. She is a steward of Henley Royal Regatta and has a range of broadcasting roles with rowing. Katherine is also currently the Chair of UK Sport and Chancellor of the University of Glasgow.
“HWR is unique. It’s a tremendous climax to your season – giving you the chance to be the best in class in that purest of tests, the match race. A win at HWR is like no other.”
Anna Watkins MBE
Anna Watkins is a double Olympic medalist and two-time world champion in the women’s double scull. Anna won Olympic bronze with Elise Laverick in Beijing 2008 before teaming up with Katherine Grainger. This outstanding combination resulted in successive world championship gold medals and culminated with an unforgettable gold medal-winning performance at the London 2012 Olympics.
“I’m delighted to be able to support HWR as a brand ambassador. It’s a pretty awesome occasion when you have the very best rowers in Britain, outside the internationals, all together for one mighty event”
Zoe de Toledo
Zoe is a former Team GB rowing cox who won a silver medal at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio, guiding the senior women’s eight to their first ever Olympic medal. She also coxed the eight when they won gold at the 2016 European Rowing Championships and the Oxford eight at the 2012 Boat Race. Zoe has been part of the commentary team at Henley Women’s Regatta and presented prizes to the winning crews in 2018. Zoe has started a coxing community “The Winning Cox” providing discussion, mentoring and educative resources.
Jess Eddie
Jess is a role model to young rowers, having been part of the history-making women’s eight which picked up silver at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games (Team GB’s first ever medal in the event), as well as gold at the European Championships the same year. Jess first represented Team GB in the women’s quad at the World Junior Championships in 2001 aged 17, but moved to the women’s eight for good in 2007. She is a double world medallist at both under 23 and senior level.
Jess is currently a Steward of Henley Royal Regatta and continues to support the sport through broadcasting and roles within several rowing events, including the Chair of Women’s Eights Head of the River Race.
Imogen Grant
Imogen learned to row at Cambridge University before joining the GB rowing team. She has won three Boat Races and is current world and European champion in the lightweight women’s double sculls with her partner Emily Craig. Having completed her medical degree at Cambridge she is aiming to represent GB at her second Olympic Games in Paris in 2024. HWR has provided Imogen with quality competition including wins in 2016 Lwt 2- and 2017 Lwt 2x and 2018 1x semi-finalist.
Emily Craig
Emily started rowing aged 12 at Bewl Bridge RC, she first competed at HWR in 2010 in a junior 2x following this up in 2011 with a win in Lwt 2x with Fran Rawlins. This was a major turning point for Emily as was first race as lightweight coupled with success on national stage. 2013 saw her winning both Lwt and Open quads followed in 2015 with victory in Lwt 2x with Ruth Walzack. Her GB career sees her as current World and European champion in LW2x with Imogen Grant.
She is aiming to represent GB at the Olympic Games this year.