Hester Goodsell

Hester became World Bronze medallist in the lightweight women's double at the 2009 World Championships in Poznan.  Coached by Paul Reedy, Hester, with crewmate Sophie Hosking, were the first GB boat in this discipline to make the A-final since 2006.  A strengthened Greek boat led out and proved too strong for GB, and in the race for the line just two-hundredths of a second separated Poland and GB, with Poland taking silver and GB a creditable bronze.

In 2008 Hester was selected in the lightweight women's double scull for the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games and finished 11th. She missed the first World Cup of 2009 through illness but in Munich was GB lightweight women's first ever World Cup winner with Sophie Hosking in the double. In Lucerne they won gold again establishing themselves as a strong partnership for the 2009 World Championships.

Hester was 8th in the lightweight double scull at the 2007 World Championships and this was enough to achieve Olympic qualification for the boat. 

In 2006 Hester took bronze at the World Championships at Eton in the lightweight women's quadruple scull.

She made her international debut in 2005, winning gold in the lightweight single at the World U23 Championships and bronze in the senior lightweight women's quad at the World Championships in Japan the same year.

Hester took up rowing at the aged of 17 while at Latymer Upper School and was coached in her early career by Don McLachlan.

Hester learnt the cello from the age of 6.  She graduated from York with a degree in Music and qualified to teach secondary school music at Cambridge. Hester is currently Head of Music at Elvian School in Reading.

Hester is Lottery Funded through UK Sport.