Elise Laverick

Laverick got her first taste of rowing on a course for new rowers run by Eton College in 1992 and found it suited her well. She was encouraged by her parents, notably her mother who raced at the World Rowing Championships in the 1960s. On leaving school Laverick moved to London to study music at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama and joined Thames Rowing Club.

In 1996 Laverick represented GB at the World Rowing U23 Championships, winning a bronze medal in the single and in 1997 she won a place in the senior women's eight. The crew raced superbly at the World Rowing Championships that year to win a bronze medal.

Laverick was selected for the Olympic team in 2000 with the eight and finished seventh. The following year she was a member of the quad that finished fifth at the World Rowing Championships.

At the 2002 World Rowing Championships in Seville, Laverick raced in the women's single, finishing in a very creditable seventh place, snatching the lead in the last metres of the B Final from the fancied local Spanish sculler.

In 2003, she raced in the quad that won a bronze medal at the Lucerne World Cup. The quad went on to qualify for the Athens Olympics, finishing fourth at the World Rowing Championships in Milan less than a second off a medal.

Laverick had a great season in 2004 winning a bronze medal in the double at the Olympic Games in Athens with Sarah Winckless. They had shown their capability in a strong World Cup season and made no mistake in the Olympic final, producing an excellent scull to win the bronze medal.

Just months later, Laverick lay in a hospital bed the victim of a 'hit and run' accident when she was riding her bike along Charing Cross Road in London. It took her several months and various bouts of surgery before she recovered enough to train and then row competitively again.

For much of the 2005 season she competed in a double scull with Debbie Flood. The duo were sixth at the Munich World Cup in June and won a bronze at the Lucerne World Cup in July. They went on to compete at the World Rowing Championships in Gifu, Japan, where they were fifth.

During the 2006 World Cup Series, she raced in the women's eight finishing sixth, third and forth.  At the 2006 World Rowing Championships at Eton the GB women's eight finished eighth.

Laverick still plays her double bass and enjoys climbing and sailing. She is also a successful skiff racer, often doubling with her mother.

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Last Updated August 2009