Dame Katherine Grainger is Britain’s most decorated female Olympian and an inspirational keynote speaker on leadership, resilience and achieving success.
With five Olympic medals in total, comprising one gold and four silver, Katherine is the only female athlete in any sport to win medals at five consecutive Olympic Games.
She was awarded a DBE in the 2013 New Year’s Honours.
Dame Katherine chairs the British Olympic Association and is Chancellor of Glasgow University.
Olympian:
Katherine won silver in the women’s Quadruple Sculls at the Sydney 2000 Olympics.
In Athens 2004, she won silver in the coxless pairs.
In Beijing 2008, she won her third silver, again in the Quadruple Sculls.
At London 2012, Katherine and Anna Watkins broke the Olympic record by qualifying for the Double Sculls final. They went on to win gold.
Katherine has also won eight medals at World Championships, between 1997 and 2011.
At the Rio Olympic Games, Katherine became the most decorated female Olympian of all time, winning a silver medal with Victoria Thornley in the Double Scull.
For many who had not expected this pairing to even qualify for Rio, their result was outstanding and propelled Katherine into the history books.
Katherine’s achievements have earned her a host of prestigious awards. These include being named Scottish Sportsperson of the Year and receiving the “Emirates Lonsdale Trophy” from Commonwealth Games Scotland in 2009, making her the first woman to win the award and putting her ahead of Scottish sporting luminaries such as Andy Murray and Sir Chris Hoy.
Katherine has been appointed as the chair of UK Sport for a term of four years, Sports Minister Tracey Crouch confirmed on the 21st April 2017.
Katherine graduated in law from Edinburgh University, then earned an MPhil in Medical Law and Medical Ethics from Glasgow University, and in May 2013 completed a PhD on homicide sentencing at King’s College, University of London. In March 2015, Katherine was inaugurated as Chancellor of Oxford Brookes University. She is now Chancellor of the University of Glasgow.
Dame Katherine Grainger – Motivational Speaker:
Dame Katherine Grainger is a highly sought-after motivational speaker.
Katherine excels when speaking about teamwork, overcoming challenges, motivation, winning, and the importance of communication.
She has delivered speeches telling a compelling journey to success to some of the most prestigious companies worldwide.
Clients have included the Bank of Scotland, Royal Bank of Scotland, Goldman Sachs, Coca-Cola and BT.
