Rebecca Romero

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Rebecca Romero

At the World Championships, 2008
Personal information
Full name Rebecca Romero
Born 24 January 1980 (1980-01-24) (age 32)
 United Kingdom
Height 1.82 m (6 ft 0 in)[1]
Weight 73 kg (160 lb)[1]
Team information
Discipline Track & Road
Role Rider
Rider type TT / Pursuit

Rebecca Jayne Romero MBE (born 24 January 1980(1980-01-24)) is an English sportswoman, a former World Champion and Olympic Games medallist at rowing, and a former World champion and reigning Olympic champion track cyclist.[2][3]

Contents

[edit] Biography

Romero was born in Carshalton,[1] Surrey, of an English mother and Spanish father, and brought up in Wallington, Surrey where she attended Wallington High School for Girls.[4] Her success in both sports has meant that she has been funded as a full-time athlete since graduating from university.[5] She went to St Mary's College in Strawberry Hill, where she studied Sports Science and English, gaining a 2.1 in 2002. She has a postgraduate diploma in Marketing Communications, which she gained in 2006. Rebecca is currently studying for an MSc in Sports and Exercise Nutrition at the University of Chester .

[edit] Rowing

Romero has won world championships in both cycling and rowing; as a rower, she won a silver medal at the Athens 2004 Olympics in the quadruple sculls, and the following year was part of the British crew that won the 2005 World Championships in the quad sculls. Suffering from a persistent back injury, Romero retired from rowing in 2006.[6]

[edit] Cycling

Romero later took up track cycling, and made rapid progress in her new sport, specialising in track endurance events.

In December 2006, Romero won a silver medal in the pursuit at the UCI Track World Cup event in Moscow – her international cycling debut – losing out to fellow Briton Wendy Houvenaghel.

Romero won her first Cycling World Championships medal in March 2007 with silver in the 3 km pursuit.[7] The following year, at the 2008 UCI Track Cycling World Championships, held in Manchester, she won the individual and, (with Houvenaghel and Joanna Rowsell), team pursuit events.

[edit] Beijing Olympics

She became the first British woman ever to compete in two different sports at the Olympic Games when she rode in the individual pursuit in Beijing. In winning the gold, she also became only the second woman of any country (after Roswitha Krause of East Germany) to win a medal in two different sports at Summer Games.[8]

Romero appeared nude on her bicycle in an advert for Powerade sports drink in the run up to the 2008 Summer Olympics.[9]

Romero was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the 2009 New Year Honours.[10]

[edit] Post-Beijing

Romero was expected to return to track cycling in October 2009 but did not return amid speculation that the individual pursuit would be dropped from the Olympic programme.[11] It was announced in December 2009 that the event is to be dropped, meaning Romero will be unable to defend her title at the 2012 Summer Olympics. She condemned the decision to drop the event as "ludicrous" but seems set to make a further change of events by switching to the road time trial.[12]

In August 2009 she attempted the 874 mile non-stop mixed tandem bicycle record attempt from Land's End to John O'Groats with James Cracknell but had to give up at more than half way due to a knee injury.[13]

She planned to race in a time trial at Levens, Cumbria on 13 August 2011.[14] She also raced in the British Time Trial Championships on 4 September 2011 finishing 4th overall.

[edit] Achievements

[edit] Rowing

Olympic Games
2004 – Silver medal olympic.svg Silver, Quadruple sculls (with Frances Houghton, Debbie Flood, Alison Mowbray)
World Championships
2001 – 5th, Quadruple sculls
2002 – 5th, Quadruple sculls
2003 – 4th, Double sculls
2005 – Gold, Quadruple sculls (with Katherine Grainger, Frances Houghton, Sarah Winkless)
U23 World Championships
1999 – 4th, Single sculls
2000 – Gold, Coxless pairs

[edit] Cycling

 United Kingdom Time Trial Champion (Cycling) 2006
UCI Track World Cups: 2 Silver Medals (Moscow & Manchester)
2007 World Championships – Silver, 3 km Pursuit
 United Kingdom National 3km Pursuit Champion (Cycling) 2007
2008 World Championships – Gold, 3 km Pursuit
2008 World Championships – Gold, Team Pursuit
2008 Summer Olympics Gold medal olympic.svg Gold, Individual Pursuit
 United Kingdom 4th British National Time Trial Championships (Cycling) 2011

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b c "Athlete Biography – ROMERO Rebecca". Beijing Olympics official website. http://results.beijing2008.cn/WRM/ENG/BIO/Athlete/5/225165.shtml. 
  2. ^ Profile on British Olympic Association's website
  3. ^ Romero beats GB team-mate to gold BBC News Sunday, 17 August 2008 10:22 UK
  4. ^ "Rebecca Romero ' . . . . live your dream'". Wallington High School for Girls. http://www.wallingtongirls.sutton.sch.uk/content_t.asp?cat=3&sub=76&id=299. 
  5. ^ "Rebecca Romero: fame and fortune". London: Telegraph.co.uk. 28 May 2008. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/money/main.jhtml?xml=/money/2008/05/28/cmfame28.xml. Retrieved 22 May 2010. 
  6. ^ "Champion Romero eyes Olympic gold". BBC Sport. 28 March 2008. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/other_sports/cycling/7318166.stm. 
  7. ^ "Pursuit quartet and Hoy take gold". BBC Sport. 30 March 2007. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/other_sports/cycling/6509905.stm. 
  8. ^ Gallagher, Brendan (17 August 2008). "Rebecca Romero makes British Olympic history with gold in velodrome". London: Telegraph.co.uk. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/othersports/olympics/2573543/Rebecca-Romero-makes-British-Olympic-history-with-gold-in-velodrome---Beijing-Olympics.html. Retrieved 22 May 2010. 
  9. ^ Kelland, Kate (5 August 2008). "British athletes bare all for advertising campaign". Reuters. http://www.reuters.com/article/oddlyEnoughNews/idUSKUA55870220080805. 
  10. ^ London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 58929. p. 21. 31 December 2008.
  11. ^ "Romero conspicuous by her absence". BBC Sport. 21 October 2009. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/other_sports/cycling/8319327.stm. 
  12. ^ "Rebecca Romero attacks 'ludicrous' Olympic track cycling changes". London: The Guardian. 28 October 2009. http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/2009/oct/28/rebecca-romero-olympics-2012-cycling. Retrieved 22 May 2010. 
  13. ^ Hancock, Roland (4 August 2009). "James Cracknell on Romero's heartbreak". The Daily Telegraph (London). http://www.telegraph.co.uk/active/5972140/Video-James-Cracknell-on-Romeros-heartbreak.html. Retrieved 3 October 2009. 
  14. ^ "Cycling Time Trials". Cycling Time Trials. http://cyclingtimetrials.org.uk/Default.aspx?&ge1245__geka=MoeMaZhZdmGPSYuQ8onYwr5VtT1MpzEe2fhLDMJ2raLecJpH2krg7vuaSwOlcDHI0H1Rz3_75ZLsffviiG0ALA&ge1245__gevi=7G_eOLtxMD9FYjylEOeKkBgmQKg1PI7IBMPHtcMkZ0E&gv391__gvac=2&gv391__gvff0=3470&gv391__gvfl0=0&language=en-GB&tabid=62. 

[edit] External links

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