Annabel Morwenna Vernon (born 1 September 1982) is a retired British

rower Rowing, often called crew in the United States, is the sport of racing boats using oars. It differs from paddling sports in that rowing oars (called blades in the United Kingdom) are attached to the boat using rowlocks, while paddles are ...

. She was born in

Truro Truro (; ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and civil parish in Cornwall, England; it is the southernmost city in the United Kingdom, just under west-south-west of Charing Cross in London. It is Cornwall's county town, s ...

Cornwall Cornwall (; or ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is also one of the Celtic nations and the homeland of the Cornish people. The county is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, ...

. She was educated at St Minver Primary School then

Wadebridge School Wadebridge School is a coeducational secondary school with academy status, located in the town of Wadebridge, Cornwall, England. It has 1,235 pupils. The headteacher is Mr Mat Winzor. Facilities include gymnasium, tennis courts, football/rugb ...

Downing College, Cambridge Downing College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge and currently has around 950 students. Founded in 1800, it was the only college to be added to the university between 1596 and 1869, and is often described as the oldest of ...

, and

King's College London King's College London (informally King's or KCL) is a public university, public research university in London, England. King's was established by royal charter in 1829 under the patronage of George IV of the United Kingdom, King George IV ...

(MA International Relations). Vernon started rowing at Castle Dore Rowing Club at

Golant Golant () is a village in south Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is on the west bank of the River Fowey and in the civil parish of St Sampson. Golant is about north of Fowey and east of St Austell. Golant church is dedicated to St ...

when she was 17, influenced by her elder brother and father. She read history at

, where she rowed in the women's Blue Boat in 2003, under the presidency of Ruth de Las Casas. She was a member of Rob Roy Boat Club while in Cambridge, then represented

Thames Rowing Club The Thames Rowing Club (TRC) is a rowing club based on the tidal River Thames, Thames as it flows through the western suburbs of London. The TRC clubhouse stands on Putney Embankment. The club was founded in 1860. As of July 2023, Thames had w ...

and now rows under

Marlow Rowing Club Marlow Rowing Club is a Sport rowing, rowing club on the River Thames in England, on the southern bank of the Thames at Bisham in Berkshire, opposite the town of Marlow, Buckinghamshire just beside Marlow Bridge and on the reach above Marlow ...

colours. She represented Great Britain in the Women's Quadruple Sculls at the

2008 Beijing Olympics The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and officially branded as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes fro ...

, winning a silver medal. She was selected to row in the women's eight at the

2012 Summer Olympics The 2012 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012, were an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...

. The crew reached the A Final of the event, and finished fifth. After retiring from active competition she embarked on a journalistic, media and speaking career. In 2019 she published her first book
Mind Games
with Bloomsbury Publishing, which looks at the psychology of elite sport through a mixture of academic theories and interviews with sports people.

Achievements

* Bronze medal in the pair at the World U23 Championships in

Poznań Poznań ( ) is a city on the Warta, River Warta in west Poland, within the Greater Poland region. The city is an important cultural and business center and one of Poland's most populous regions with many regional customs such as Saint John's ...

. * Sixth in the women's single at the 2006 GB Senior Selection Trials in

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

World Championships 2005

* Ninth in the single scull.

2006 World Cup Series

* Gold in the Double Scull at the

Munich Munich is the capital and most populous city of Bavaria, Germany. As of 30 November 2024, its population was 1,604,384, making it the third-largest city in Germany after Berlin and Hamburg. Munich is the largest city in Germany that is no ...

World Cup

Regatta Boat racing is a sport in which boats, or other types of watercraft, race on water. Boat racing powered by oars is recorded as having occurred in ancient Egypt, and it is likely that people have engaged in races involving boats and other wa ...

. * Fourth in

. * Silver in

Lucerne Lucerne ( ) or Luzern ()Other languages: ; ; ; . is a city in central Switzerland, in the Languages of Switzerland, German-speaking portion of the country. Lucerne is the capital of the canton of Lucerne and part of the Lucerne (district), di ...

World Championships 2006

* Fourth in the Double Scull.

World Championships 2007

* Gold in the Quad Scull

Beijing Olympics 2008

* Silver in the Quad Scull.

World Championships 2009

* Silver in the Double Scull

World Championships 2010

* Gold in the Quad Scull

References

External links

Official website
* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Vernon, Annie 1982 births British female rowers People from Wadebridge Living people Alumni of Downing College, Cambridge Alumni of King's College London Olympic rowers for Great Britain Olympic silver medallists for Great Britain Rowers at the 2008 Summer Olympics Rowers at the 2012 Summer Olympics Sportspeople from Truro Olympic medalists in rowing English female rowers Medalists at the 2008 Summer Olympics World Rowing Championships medalists for Great Britain 21st-century English sportswomen