Zoë Lee

Rower
Date of Birth: 15th Dec 1985 (39 years old)
Club: Imperial College BC
Height: 176.00
Hometown: Richmond - North Yorkshire

Zoë Lee profile image

Zoë Lee had two ambitions for the 2016 season - to become a doctor and make her Olympic debut at the Rio Games.

She achieved both in some style, completing her PhD in geography at King’s College, London in March before winning an historic Olympic silver with the women’s eight for Rio 2016.

An Oxford Blue and former world university champion, Zoë also stroked the eight to a gold medal at the 2016 European Championships.

Knee surgery after Rio 2016 kept Zoë out of the entire 2017 season. She made the switch to sculling when she returned for the 2018 season and competed as part of the women’s quad. She returned to the women’s eight in 2019, where she won European silver and World Cup bronze.

Zoë retired from the GB Rowing Team in December 2020.

Zoe stroked the women's eight to Olympic silver and European gold during a historic 2016 season

On The Water

2016

Olympic Silver Medalist Women's Eight

European Champion Women's Eight

2014

European Silver Medallist Women's Eight

2012

European Bronze Medallist Women's Eight

2010

World University Champion Women's Four

Rio 2016 Olympiad: 2013 – 2016

Lee was once again selected to stroke the women’s eight for the 2016 season and 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 2016 but Zoe and her crew-mates ended that wait at Rio as they took silver in a photo-finish after an epic race that featured another trademark surge through the field in the second half.

Lee first sat in the stroke seat in 2015 and helped qualify the eight for the Rio 2016 Olympic Games with a fourth-placed finish at the World Rowing Championships in Aiguebelette.

The season started with fifth place at the European Championships in Poznan, with the GB crew looking well on course for a medal until an unfortunate boat-stopping crab in the closing stages.

They hit back with impressive bronze medals at the Varese and Lucerne World Cups, twice going under six minutes at the first of those, before finishing less than a second shy of the podium in Aiguebelette.

Lee had started the Olympiad in the women’s quadruple scull, finishing fourth at both the Sydney and Eton Dorney World Cups, before moving to the eight where she again finished just off the podium at the World Cup in Lucerne and World Rowing Championships in Chungju.

She remained in the eight for the 2014 season and won silver at the European Championships in Belgrade. Later she added bronze medals at the World Cups in Aiguebelette and Lucerne before finishing sixth at the World Rowing Championships in Amsterdam.

Zoe Lee stroked the women's eight to Olympic qualification during the 2015 season © Peter Spurrier/Intersport Images

London 2012 Olympiad: 2009 – 2012

Lee first trialled for the GB Rowing Team after moving to London in 2009 and was selected for the World University Rowing Championships the following year, winning gold in the women’s four with Emily Taylor, Monica Relph and Leonora Kennedy.

She gained her first GB Rowing Team experience in the women’s eight at the 2011 and 2012 European Championships, finishing fourth in Plovdiv and winning bronze in Varese.

GB Competitive Record

Year Event Position Boat
2019 World Rowing Championships
Linz Ottensheim, AUT
5 W8+
2019 World Rowing Cup III
Rotterdam, NED
5 W8+
2019 World Rowing Cup II
Poznan, POL
W8+
2019 European Rowing Championships
Lucerne, SUI
W8+
2018 World Rowing Championships
Plovdiv, BUL
5 W4x
2018 European Rowing Championships
Glasgow, GBR
4 W4x
2018 World Rowing Cup II
Linz Ottensheim, AUT
1 (FB Final) W4x
2016 Olympic Games Regatta
Rio de Janeiro, BRA
W8+
2016 World Rowing Cup III
Poznan, POL
W8+
2016 World Rowing Cup II
Lucerne, SUI
W8+
2016 European Rowing Championships
Brandenburg, GER
W8+
2015 World Rowing Championships
Aiguebelette, FRA
4 W8+
2015 World Rowing Cup III
Lucerne, SUI
W8+
2015 World Rowing Cup II
Varese, ITA
W8+
2015 European Rowing Championships
Poznan, POL
5 W8+
2014 World Rowing Championships
Amsterdam, NED
6 W8+
2014 World Rowing Cup III
Lucerne, SUI
W8+
2014 World Rowing Cup II
Aiguebelette, FRA
W8+
2014 European Rowing Championships
Belgrade, SRB
W8+
2013 World Rowing Championships
Chungju, KOR
4 W8+
2013 World Rowing Cup III
Lucerne, SUI
4 W8+
2013 World Rowing Cup II
Eton, GBR
4 W4x
2013 World Rowing Cup I
Sydney, AUS
4 W4x
2012 European Championships
Varese, ITA
W8+
2011 European Championships
Plovdiv, BUL
4 (F Final) W8+
Year:
2019
Event:
World Rowing Championships
Linz Ottensheim, AUT
Position:
5
Boat:
W8+
Year:
2019
Event:
World Rowing Cup III
Rotterdam, NED
Position:
5
Boat:
W8+
Year:
2019
Event:
World Rowing Cup II
Poznan, POL
Position:
Boat:
W8+
Year:
2019
Event:
European Rowing Championships
Lucerne, SUI
Position:
Boat:
W8+
Year:
2018
Event:
World Rowing Championships
Plovdiv, BUL
Position:
5
Boat:
W4x
Year:
2018
Event:
European Rowing Championships
Glasgow, GBR
Position:
4
Boat:
W4x
Year:
2018
Event:
World Rowing Cup II
Linz Ottensheim, AUT
Position:
1 (FB Final)
Boat:
W4x
Year:
2016
Event:
Olympic Games Regatta
Rio de Janeiro, BRA
Position:
Boat:
W8+
Year:
2016
Event:
World Rowing Cup III
Poznan, POL
Position:
Boat:
W8+
Year:
2016
Event:
World Rowing Cup II
Lucerne, SUI
Position:
Boat:
W8+
Year:
2016
Event:
European Rowing Championships
Brandenburg, GER
Position:
Boat:
W8+
Year:
2015
Event:
World Rowing Championships
Aiguebelette, FRA
Position:
4
Boat:
W8+
Year:
2015
Event:
World Rowing Cup III
Lucerne, SUI
Position:
Boat:
W8+
Year:
2015
Event:
World Rowing Cup II
Varese, ITA
Position:
Boat:
W8+
Year:
2015
Event:
European Rowing Championships
Poznan, POL
Position:
5
Boat:
W8+
Year:
2014
Event:
World Rowing Championships
Amsterdam, NED
Position:
6
Boat:
W8+
Year:
2014
Event:
World Rowing Cup III
Lucerne, SUI
Position:
Boat:
W8+
Year:
2014
Event:
World Rowing Cup II
Aiguebelette, FRA
Position:
Boat:
W8+
Year:
2014
Event:
European Rowing Championships
Belgrade, SRB
Position:
Boat:
W8+
Year:
2013
Event:
World Rowing Championships
Chungju, KOR
Position:
4
Boat:
W8+
Year:
2013
Event:
World Rowing Cup III
Lucerne, SUI
Position:
4
Boat:
W8+
Year:
2013
Event:
World Rowing Cup II
Eton, GBR
Position:
4
Boat:
W4x
Year:
2013
Event:
World Rowing Cup I
Sydney, AUS
Position:
4
Boat:
W4x
Year:
2012
Event:
European Championships
Varese, ITA
Position:
Boat:
W8+
Year:
2011
Event:
European Championships
Plovdiv, BUL
Position:
4 (F Final)
Boat:
W8+

More info...

Club: Imperial College BC
Boat: Women’s Squad
Role: Rower
Coaches: Paul Thompson
Learnt to Row: Oxford University
Original Club(s): Oxford University Women’s Boat Club
Original Coach(es): Paul Mattick, Ian Shore, Andy Green, Don McLachlan, Brian Steele, James Harris

Beyond the Boat

Lee read geography at Oxford University and gained a Blue for netball during her undergraduate studies. She gave rowing a try during her second year but only took up the sport properly during her master’s course. In 2008 she stroked Oxford to victory in the Women’s Boat Race against Cambridge and also won the Women’s Eights Head of the River and the senior coxed fours at Henley Women’s Regatta.

She has spent the past six years juggling her full-time rowing career with studying for a PhD in Geography, focusing her research on the area of sand transportation. She completed her course in March 2016, just prior to the Olympic Trials, and is now Dr Lee.

She is Lottery funded through UK Sport.

Personal information

Place of Birth Current Address Home Town
Richmond, North Yorkshire Putney Richmond, North Yorkshire
Place of Birth:
Richmond, North Yorkshire
Current Address:
Putney
Home Town:
Richmond, North Yorkshire
Date of Birth Height
15th December 1985 176cm
Date of Birth:
15th December 1985
Height:
176cm
Education
University of Oxford, King’s College London
Education:
University of Oxford, King’s College London