Jessica Eddie

Rio 2016 Olympiad: 2013 – 2016

After finishing runner-up in the women’s pair with Polly Swann at the GB Rowing Team Trials, Jess was once again selected in the women’s eight for 2016. 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 Jess 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.

Jess has been in the women’s eight for all but one race of the Rio Olympiad and helped qualify the boat for the 2016 Games with a fourth-placed finish at the 2015 World Championships in Aigubelette.

The 2015 season started with a fifth-placed finish 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.

Jess doubled up in the first World Cup of the Olympiad in Munich, finishing fourth in the eight and fifth in the pair with Katie Greves. She partnered Louisa Reeve to a similar finish at the Eton Dorney World Cup before returning to the eight for the rest of the 2013 season, placing fourth at both the World Cup in Lucerne and World Championships in Chungju.

She also raced in the eight throughout 2014, winning silver at the European Championships in Belgrade and bronze medals at the World Cups in Aiguebelette and Lucerne before finishing sixth at the World Championships in Amsterdam.

London 2012 Olympiad: 2009 – 2012

Jess’s top-five finishes with the women’s eight at the 2008 and 2012 Olympic Games are among the highlights of a GB Rowing Team career that started in 2001.

She finished fifth at the 2009 World Championships in Poznan at the end of a season which started with gold for Jess and the eight at the Banyoles World Cup.

Jess won a medal of each colour with the eight during the 2010 World Cup season – gold in Bled, silver in Munich and bronze in Lucerne – before finishing just off the podium at the World Championships in New Zealand.

The 2011 season saw Jess take silver with the eight at the Munich World Cup before securing her second World Championships medal with bronze in Bled in 2011.

Two more bronze medals followed at the Belgrade and Munich World Cups in 2012 before Jess and the eight recorded another fifth-placed finish at the London Olympics.

Jess, who took up rowing aged eight, also played netball and rugby as a youngster. She was under­-10s County Champion at mini rugby with Durham RFC – “I tell this fact to most people I meet.” She has a twin sister, Alexandra, who also rowed.

She completed a degree in Biology at Royal Holloway College in 2006 and is currently studying Art. She spends her spare time reading up on art history or visiting galleries and her ideal non-­rowing career would be an expert on Antiques Roadshow. LS Lowry would be one of her dream dinner party guests, along with Joanna Lumley and Beyonce.

A big music lover, Jess says she is currently “obsessed” with Nadine Shah, a singer-songwriter from Sunderland. When it comes to training, her ergo soundtrack is a mix of upbeat pop – “Beyonce, obviously” ­ and rockier tracks from Arcade Fire and alt­-J.

Jess is also a big fan of sushi and coffee, and enjoys discovering London’s independent coffee shops. Her espresso machine would be one of the items she would take to a desert island, along with her Gameboy and a football “to master my keepy­-ups”.

Her favourite TV show is University Challenge and Grease 2 is her top film.

Jess is Lottery funded through UK Sport.