Eliza Blair (born 20 November 1976) is an Australian architect and former representative rower. She was a national champion, a 1997 world champion and the standing world record holder in the women's lightweight

coxless pair A coxless pair, abbreviated as a 2- and also known as a straight pair, is a racing shell used in the sport of competitive rowing. It is designed for two rowers, who propel the boat with sweep oars. The crew consists of a pair of rowers, each ...

Club and state rowing

Blair's senior rowing was done from the Melbourne University Boat Club. Blair raced in Victorian representative women's crews who contested the Victoria Cup at the Interstate Regatta. Till 1998 that race was in lightweight

coxless four A coxless four, abbreviated as a 4- and also called a straight four, is a racing shell used in the sport of competitive rowing. It is designed for four persons who propel the boat with sweep oars, without a coxswain. The crew consists of four ...

and Blair raced in Victorian fours in 1996 and 1997 (to victory). From 1999 the lightweight women's interstate race was contested in quad sculls. Blair raced for Victoria in quads in 1999 (to victory) and in 2000.

International representative rowing

Blair's first Australian representative appearance was in the 1995 u/23 Trans Tasman series where she raced in a lightweight pair. Her senior Australian representative debut was the following year in a lightweight

at the

1996 World Rowing Championships The 1996 World Rowing Championships were World Rowing Championships that were held on 11 August 1996 in conjunction with the World Rowing Junior Championships, World Junior Rowing Championships in Motherwell, Strathclyde, Scotland, United Kingdom ...

, a lightweight only regatta in

Strathclyde Strathclyde ( in Welsh language, Welsh; in Scottish Gaelic, Gaelic, meaning 'strath

alley An alley or alleyway is a narrow lane, footpath, path, or passageway, often reserved for pedestrians, which usually runs between, behind, or within buildings in towns and cities. It is also a rear access or service road (back lane), or a path, w ...

of the River Clyde') was one of nine former Local government in Scotland, local government Regions and districts of Scotland, regions of Scotland cre ...

, Scotland. She raced with her Victorian team-mate Justine Joyce to a fifth place. The following year at Aiguebelette 1997 still paired with Joyce, Blair won World Championship gold in a lightweight coxless pair. As a result of the women's lightweight coxless pair being retired from international racing in 1997, Blair's 7:18:32 time set with Joyce is the standing world's best time in that event. By 1998 Blair had switched to sculling and she competed at international World Rowing Cups that year in firstly a double scull and then the quad. For the

1998 World Rowing Championships The 1998 World Rowing Championships were World Rowing Championships that were held from 9 to 18 September 1998 in Cologne, Germany. The World Rowing Championships are organized by World Rowing Federation, FISA, back then International Rowing Fede ...

Cologne Cologne ( ; ; ) is the largest city of the States of Germany, German state of North Rhine-Westphalia and the List of cities in Germany by population, fourth-most populous city of Germany with nearly 1.1 million inhabitants in the city pr ...

, Blair was selected in the lightweight quad scull with Josephine Lips, Rebecca Joyce and Dearne Grant. They placed fifth. At the 2000 World Rowing Cup III in Lucerne, Switzerland Blair rowed in Australia's lightweight women's quad. The next month that same crew contested the lightweight

quad scull A quadruple sculling boat, often simply called a quad and abbreviated as a 4x, is a racing shell used in the sport of competitive rowing. It is designed for four people who propel the boat by sculling with two oars, or "sculls", one in each h ...

at the

2000 World Rowing Championships The 2000 World Rowing Championships were World Rowing Championships that were held from 1 to 6 August 2000 in conjunction with the World Junior Rowing Championships in Zagreb, Croatia. Since 2000 was an Olympic year for rowing, the World Champi ...

in Zagreb, Croatia and Blair won a silver medal in a crew with Catriona Roach, Sally Causby and

Amber Halliday Amber Jae Halliday (born 13 November 1979) is a former rower and cyclist from Adelaide, South Australia. She is an Australian national champion, a dual Olympian and a three-time world-champion in lightweight rowing. She rowed for South Australia ...

. It was Blair's last international appearance for AustraliaBlair at World Rowing
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References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Blair, Eliza 1976 births Living people Australian female rowers World Rowing Championships medalists for Australia 20th-century Australian women 21st-century Australian sportswomen Place of birth missing (living people)