Beryl Crockford (formerly Mitchell; née Martin; 26 June 1950 – 11 September 2016) was a world-champion and Olympic rower who represented Great Britain from 1975 to 1986. In 1985 she married Duncan Crockford and competed as Beryl Crockford afterwards, previously she had competed under her divorced name of Beryl Mitchell..

Representative rowing career

She was part of the coxed four at the

1975 World Rowing Championships The 1975 World Rowing Championships was the fifth World Rowing Championships. It was held from 21 to 30 August at Holme Pierrepont National Watersports Centre in Nottingham, England, United Kingdom. Medal summary Medalists at the 1975 World ...

in Nottingham, the crew finished 9th overall after a third-place finish in the B final. In the

1976 Olympics 1976 Olympics refers to both: *The 1976 Winter Olympics, which were originally to be held in Denver, United States, but relocated to Innsbruck, Austria *The 1976 Summer Olympics The 1976 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of t ...

she rowed with Lin Clark in the women's coxless pairs and in 1977 she was part of the coxless pair that finished 10th overall and fourth in the B final at the

1977 World Rowing Championships The 1977 World Rowing Championships was the 6th World Rowing Championships. The championships were held from 19 to 28 August 1977 on the Bosbaan rowing lake in Amsterdam, Netherlands. Medal summary About 556 rowers from 28 countries competed a ...

in Amsterdam. At the 1980 Olympics and the

1984 Olympics The 1984 Olympics may refer to: *The 1984 Winter Olympics, which were held in Sarajevo, Yugoslavia *The 1984 Summer Olympics The 1984 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXIII Olympiad and commonly known as Los Angeles 1984) were an i ...

she rowed in the women's single sculls. Her silver medal in women's single sculls in the

1981 World Rowing Championships The 1981 World Rowing Championships were World Rowing Championships that were held from 30 August to 6 September 1981 at Oberschleißheim Regatta Course in Oberschleißheim near Munich, West Germany. Medal summary Men's events Women's events ...

was the first medal achieved by a British woman at a World Rowing Championships, and her win with Lin Clark in the women's lightweight double sculls at the

1985 World Rowing Championships The 1985 World Rowing Championships refer to the World Rowing Championships held from 26 August to 1 September 1985 at Hazewinkel in Heindonk, Belgium. Medal summary Medalists at the 1985 World Rowing Championships were: Men's events ...

was the first gold medal for a British women's crew at any championships. She represented

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

in the lightweight single sculls, at the

1986 Commonwealth Games The 1986 Commonwealth Games were held in Edinburgh, Scotland, between 24 July and 2 August 1986. This was the second Commonwealth Games to be held in Edinburgh. Thirty two of the eligible fifty nine countries (largely African, Asian and Caribbe ...

Edinburgh Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

. She represented Great Britain at three Olympic Games and eight World Championships in total.

Club rowing

As Beryl Martin she won the coxed fours with Janis Long, Ann Shackell, Margaret Goodsman and Di Ellis, rowing for the St George's Ladies crew, at the inaugural 1972 National Rowing Championships. She won the coxed fours at the 1975 National Championships and the while rowing for the St George's Ladies Rowing Club she won the coxless pairs with Lin Clark, at the 1977 National Rowing Championships. At the 1978 National Championships when rowing for the

Thames Tradesmen's Rowing Club The Thames Tradesmen's Rowing Club is a rowing club on the Tideway (upper estuary of the Thames) in West London, United Kingdom at University of London Boathouse, Hartington Road, Chiswick W4. Foundation and colours The club was established in ...

she won the coxless pairs title with Clark and one year later at the 1979 National Championships she was part of the composite crew that won the quadruple sculls. She was the single sculls champion, at the 1981 National Rowing Championships and the 1982 National Rowing Championships Also in 1982, when women's invitational events were introduced to

Henley Royal Regatta Henley Royal Regatta (or Henley Regatta, its original name pre-dating Royal patronage) is a Rowing (sport), rowing event held annually on the River Thames by the town of Henley-on-Thames, England. It was established on 26 March 1839. It diffe ...

, Mitchell won the inaugural

single sculls A single scull (or a scull), abbreviated as a 1x, is a racing shell designed for a single person who propels the boat with two oars, one in each hand. Racing boats (often called "shells") are long, narrow, and broadly semi-circular in cross-sec ...

. A third consecutive single sculls title was won at the 1983 National Rowing Championships. She was part of the double sculls crew with Lin Clark that won the national title in a dead-heat with Bradford Amateur Rowing Club, rowing for

Sons of the Thames Sons of the Thames is a rowing club in Hammersmith, London, England. It was formed in Putney in 1886 with the aim, still enshrined in its constitution, to further the sport of rowing. History Originally a tradesmen's club, thus open to those in ...

, at the 1985 National Championships. The race was the first dead heat for winners since the start of the Championships.

Teaching and coaching

Crockford trained as a dance teacher at Chelsea College of Physical Education Eastbourne before turning to physical education, teaching and college lecturing even during her competitive career. She was the first female member nominated for membership of

Leander Club Leander Club, founded in 1818, is one of the oldest rowing clubs in the world, and the oldest non-academic club. It is based in Remenham in Berkshire, England and adjoins Henley-on-Thames. Only three other surviving clubs were founded prior ...

when the club voted in April 1997 to admit women members (after 179 years a male-only club). In the 1990s she coached

Lady Eleanor Holles School Lady Eleanor Holles School (often abbreviated to LEH or LEHS) is a private day school for girls in Hampton, London. It consists of a small junior school and a larger senior school, which operate from different buildings on the same site. It is a ...

to be the most successful junior women's rowing club in the country, and in 2013 she was reported to be coaching the Ancient Mariners squad, a masters crew who row from the Drummoyne Rowing Club in Sydney. For a number of years before her death she was the head coach of rowing at

Sydney Boys High School Sydney Boys High School ('SBHS'), otherwise known as Sydney High School ('SHS') or simply High, is an Australian government-funded single-sex academically selective secondary day school for boys, located at Moore Park, New South Wales, a s ...

and coached the school's 1st VIII.

Death

On 11 September 2016, Crockford succumbed to injuries she sustained after crashing into a parked car whilst cycling in the precinct of

Sydney Olympic Park Sydney Olympic Park is a suburb of Greater Western Sydney, located 13 kilometres west of the Sydney central business district, in the Local government in Australia, local government area of the City of Parramatta, City of Parramatta Council. It i ...

.Hansen, Nick. (12 September 2016)
"Beryl Crockford: Rowing champ loses fight for life after bike crash"
''

The Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a British daily broadsheet conservative newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed in the United Kingdom and internationally. It was found ...

''. Retrieved 12 September 2016.

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Crockford, Beryl 1950 births 2016 deaths British female rowers Olympic rowers for Great Britain Rowers at the 1976 Summer Olympics Rowers at the 1980 Summer Olympics Rowers at the 1984 Summer Olympics World Rowing Championships medalists for Great Britain Commonwealth Games competitors for England Rowers at the 1986 Commonwealth Games