Annabel Vernon

For the 2010 World Cup Series Annabel raced in the women's quadruple scull, winning gold in Bled, silver in Munich and gold in Lucerne.

In 2009 Annabel teamed up with 2006 partner Anna Watkins (née Bebington) to race the double.   In the World Cup series she took gold in Banyoles and bronze in Munich before being forced to withdraw from Lucerne on the day of the heats through illness.   Annabel also raced in the women's quad in Banyoles, winning another gold medal.  At the World Rowing Championships in Poznan the double won their heat and semi and chose to stay in the pack for the first half of their final.  With a strong third quarter they put themselves in a good medal position by 1500m but could not catch the Poles and took silver 1.6 seconds behind gold and 1.3 seconds ahead of third placed Bulgaria. 

Annabel became World Champion in the women's quad in 2007 in an exceptional performance making her the first GB Rowing Team Start rower to win a senior world medal.  She won silver in the quad in Beijing in 2008; having led the final for the first 1500 metres it was agonising for the crew (and GB supporters) to be overhauled by an exceptional Chinese crew in the final metres of the race.

Annabel started rowing at Castle Dore Rowing Club in Cornwall when she was 17, inspired by her father who had also rowed. She went to Cambridge University where she rowed in the women's Blue Boat in 2003, but the secret of her progress was in joining GB Rowing's Team's Start Programme, sponsored by Siemens, in 2002. Based in Cambridge and coached by Adrian Cassidy she learnt to scull and began to show in the GB Rowing U23 testing.

She gained her first GB vest in 2004 when she won a bronze medal in the pair at the World U23 Championships in Poznan. She joined the senior national squad in 2005 and finished 7th in the GB Rowing Team Senior Trials.  After finishing 4th in the double scull at the Eton World Cup in May that year she substituted for an injured Rebecca Romero in the women's quad at Lucerne, winning a silver medal. At the 2005 World Championships, during which she raced on her birthday, Annabel competed in the single scull and finished 9th overall.

The 2006 World Cup Series brought a gold in Munich, 4th place in Poznan and a silver in Lucerne. At the World Championships at Eton, in August 2006, she was 4th in the women's double – all with Anna Bebington.

Annabel is Lottery Funded through UK Sport.