Polly Swann

Rio 2016 Olympiad: 2013 – 2016

Polly returned from injury at the start of the 2016 season and, after finishing runner-up in the women’s pair with Jess Eddie at the GB Rowing Team Trials, was selected in the women’s eight. She helped to secure an eye-catching gold at the European Championships in Brandenburg, with GB surging through to take the victory in a perfectly-judged race. Another thrilling late push at the Lucerne World Cup saw the GB eight go mighty close to overhauling the Olympic and World Champions from the United States and they won silver again at the World Cup in Poznan, this time behind New Zealand.

No British women’s eight had won an Olympic medal before but Polly and her crew-mates ended that wait at Rio 2016 as they took silver in a photo-finish after an epic race that featured another trademark surge through the field in the second half.

Polly started the Olympiad in the women’s pair with newly-crowned Olympic champion Helen Glover. They quickly forged a strong partnership and won World Cup gold in Sydney, Eton Dorney and Lucerne before claiming the World Championship title in convincing fashion in Chungju.

The 2014 season saw Polly win a superb European Championships gold with Helen in Belgrade before switching to the eight, where she won World Cup bronze in both Aiguebelette and Lucerne. The eight could not reproduce that fine form at the World Championships in Amsterdam, though, and had to settle for sixth place.

London 2012 Olympiad: 2009 – 2012

After winning gold medals at the European Universities Championships and Home International Regatta in 2009, Polly made her GB Rowing Team debut at the 2010 World U23 Championships in Brest. She finished just outside the medals in the women’s four, having won gold in that boat at the Amsterdam International Regatta and Henley Women’s Regatta.

Polly raced with the senior GB women’s eight at the 2011 Henley Royal Regatta, reaching the final of the Remenham Challenge Cup, and stayed in the boat for the European Championships in Plovdiv, finishing fourth.

Unfortunately, an injury ruled Polly out for the 2012 season.

Polly recently finished her medical degree (which took 13 years to complete). Her work and rowing schedules don’t leave her with a huge amount of free time, but in her year off after the 2016 Olympics she renovated her flat in Edinburgh which she described as ‘a bit of a love hate project’. On her to-do list currently is to learn how to play guitar, build her own house and to travel and experience different medical practice around the world.