Leicester rower Lauren Henry has won a Gold medal at the Games in Paris, following a nail-biting race.
Lauren, who suspended her studies at the University of Leicester to train full time, is part of the women’s quadruple sculls in rowing for Team GB who secured a historic victory last Thursday (August 1), after a gripping race which ended in a photo finish. It marks the first time that Great Britain have won gold in in this boat class.
Lauren began rowing when she was 13 and was a sports scholar at Leicester which meant she was provided additional funding for sporting activities, equipment and competitions such as British Universities & Colleges Sport (BUCS) and beyond. While she trained at Leicester Rowing Club she was supported by the University Boat Club and raced under BUCS when she could.
She won the GB Rowing Team Senior Trials in 2023 at the age of 21. She was then selected for the GB Women’s Quad which went on to take the British Record at the Varese World Cup and became World Champion in a stand-out race in Belgrade later that year.
She is the youngest athlete in the squad which also includes Hannah Scott, Lola Anderson and Georgie Brayshaw.
On being selected to represent Team GB, she said: “It’s amazing and a dream come true to be selected. I want to thank everyone who has helped to get me to this point, my parents, coaches and teammates. It’s incredible being the youngest in the team. I remember being on a junior training camp and the coach said ‘one of you could still make the Paris team’ and I thought ‘I want that to be me!’, so to actually do it is amazing.
“I might be the youngest but I know I’m surrounded by a great group of experienced people and am confident in my performance and results. Ultimately, we still have a job to do and want to get a result in Paris that we can be proud of.”
Professor Dan Ladley, Dean of the University of Leicester School of Business said: “Congratulations to Lauren from everyone at the School of Business! Her achievement is testament to all of her hard work and is incredibly well deserved.”
Linda Ralphs, Dean of Education at the University of Leicester School of Business, said: “We are incredibly proud of Lauren’s achievement! Bringing home the gold is an outstanding accolade and a true testament to the hard work and dedication Lauren puts into everything she does. Well done, Lauren!”
Fellow sports scholar and gold medal Paralympian Nick Cummins is also hoping for glory in the games.
Nick, who trains in the University’s Danielle Brown Sports Centre and holds a PhD in History from Leicester, will be competing to retain his Gold-medal title in wheelchair rugby.
Wheelchair Rugby was introduced to the Paralympic programme as a test event at Atlanta 1996 and the ParalympicsGB team has competed at every Games since.
Stephen Bayley, Sport Experience Officer (Performance) at the University of Leicester, said: “Thursday’s gold performance by the Women’s squad sculls team was a testament to staying true to the process they have trained for over the past two years. All four athletes have now achieved their dream of standing on the podium receiving a gold medal! I congratulate Lauren and her teammates on today’s performance.
“We’re all wishing our incredible athletes the best of luck in Paris. We are very proud of what they have achieved in being selected to be part of Team GB.”
