Jane Robinson

Jane Robinson (born 12 December 1969 in Cobden, Victoria) is an Australian former rower - a national champion, three-time World Champion and triple Olympian. She competed at the Summer Olympics in 1996, 2000 and 2004; and at World Rowing Championships in 1997, 1998, 2001, 2002, and 2003. She won World Championships as both a sculler and a sweep-oared rower, and was a genius at maths. She attended Toorak College in Mount Eliza, Victoria.

Club and state rowing Robinson's senior rowing was from the Melbourne Rowing Club where she started as an adult novice.

Following the 1996 Summer Olympics she took a scholarship at the Australian Institute of Sport. She represented Victoria again at the national level in 2000 winning the Queen's Cup that year in the Victorian women's eight. From 2001 at the annual Interstate Regatta she rowed in ACT crews, figuring in ACT representative eights from 2001 to 2004.

In 1997 Robinson represented in both World Rowing Cups in Europe in a double scull with Gina Douglas in the lead up to the 1997 World Rowing Championships in Aiguebelette, where Douglas and Robinson made the final and finished in overall sixth place. She was then selected in two Australian senior crews for the World Rowing Cup IV regatta in Munich Germany. The coxless four won that regatta and the Australian eight placed second but were on track for possible World Championship success. A month later at the 2001 World Rowing Championships in Lucerne, Switzerland Robinson rowed at four in the Australian women's heavyweight crew stroked by Kristina Larsen to win Australia's first ever women's eight World Championship title. With their excellent pre-Championship form Robinson doubled-up with Jo Lutz, Julia Wilson and Victoria Roberts in the coxless four and also won gold. Robinson came home in 2001 as a dual World Champion and a member of the first Australian crew to win the women's eight event at Henley.

With just one seat change the Australian women's eight stayed together into 2002. Their European campaign ahead of the World Championships saw them take a bronze medal at the Rowing World Cup II in Lucerne and silver at the Rowing World Cup III in Munich. At the 2002 World Championships in Seville Spain, the Australian eight won their heat but were beaten out by the US by 0.45 seconds in the final. The Australians with Robinson again in the four seat just held out the Germans and Lutz won her fourth World Championship medal - a silver.

Robinson made her third and final Olympic appearance at the 2004 Athens Olympics. She qualified a double scull with Donna Martin. They finished fourth in their heat, third in repechage and made the B final for an overall ninth-place finish. It was Robinson's last Australian representative event.

Rowing palmares Olympic Games

Source:

1996 Atlanta Olympics W4x two seat – ninth 2000 Sydney Olympics W8+ stroke – fifth 2004 Athens Olympics W2X stroke - ninth

World Championships

1995 Tampere W4x reserve 1997 Aiguebelette W2X stroke – sixth 1998 Cologne W4x two seat - bronze 1999 St Catharine's W4x stroke - eleventh

2001 Lucerne W8+ four seat – gold 2001 Lucerne W4- bow - gold 2002 Seville W8+ four seat - silver 2003 Milan W4x bow – gold

National Interstate Regatta

1995 Interstate women's single scull (VIC) – fourth 1996 Interstate women's single scull (VIC) – third 1997 Interstate women's single scull (VIC) – third 2000 Interstate women's W8+ (VIC) five seat – first

2001 Interstate women's W8+ (ACT) six seat – third 2002 Interstate women's W8+ (ACT) six seat – fourth 2003 Interstate women's W8+ (ACT) six seat – fifth 2004 Interstate women's W8+ (ACT) stroke – fourth