Record-breaking Paralympic rower, Lauren Rowles, retires

Lauren Rowles OBE, who has been described by British Rowing as the greatest rower of all time, has announced her retirement from the sport, after over a decade of success on the water. The 27-year-old queer Parasports rower, from near Bromsgrove, is the first and currently the only athlete in the world to have won three Paralympic gold medals for rowing, however, she has decided that it is time to hang up her oars, stating that it will never get better than this.

Since becoming a parent last year, with her partner Jude Hamer – a Paralympic basketball player – Lauren has said she became more aware of the family moments she had missed while focussing her attention on rowing.

She told the BBC: “I’ve been rowing for a decade now and in that time, I’ve had so many highs, lows, and obviously an incredible moment exactly this time last year in Paris on that podium at the Paralympics Games.

“For me, after reflecting for the past year on that performance and that historic win for us, being the first ever athlete in Paralympic rowing to go back to back with three gold medals, I felt like it was my time to hang up my oars and call it a day.

“There’s that moment of knowing that what I did within rowing, it was the best that I ever could have done and I gave it my all, and that’s something I’ll be really, really proud of.”

She added: "I've been so proud to be part of teams that have been historic, and have a phenomenal legacy within sport.”

Lauren will not, however, be stepping away from the sporting world completely. Instead, she plans to return to wheelchair track racing which is how she began her career as a junior, kickstarting her career as an elite athlete, bringing her in a “full circle moment”.

She explained: "When I went into rowing, there was this element of never finishing the project I started in wheelchair racing, which is why I want to go back and give it my best shot.”