<< Photo: Jewels Images

In 2000 at the Sydney Olympic Games, Guin made history by being part of the crew that won Britain’s first ever female rowing medal at an Olympic Games.

This was the highlight of an international career that lasted 9 years, 2 Olympic Games and 6 World Championships. In that time she rowed some 44,000 kilometres (further than going to Australia and back), drinking 40,000 litres of water and sweating around 250 baths of sweat. In 2003 illness led to the early end of her Athens dream of gold, so Guin looked else where for a challenge. In the early hours of September 16th 2003 she became both the first person to row the English Channel in an Olympic class single and the first women to row across solo. Her record of 3 hours and 14 minutes remains unbroken and is some 8 minutes faster than the men’s record. Academically Guin studied at Dauntsey’s School, in Wiltshire. She received a BA (hons) in Human Movement Studies from Leeds Metropolitan University and a MSc in Sport Science from Loughborough University. She has worked as an exercise physiologist at the Olympic Medical Institute, international rowing coach and sport administrator. She started working for the Youth Sport Trust managing the SKY/DfES changingLIVES program in 2003, then became Head of Performance in 2007 She currently is Head of Operations within the TOP Foundation.