Shirley Robertson is one of Britain and Scotland’s greatest ever Olympians. She won her second consecutive Olympic gold medal at the 2004 Athens Games. In 2008 she will endeavour to win gold, making her one of only 3 female athletes to win gold in 3 consecutive Olympic Games and also the leading British female Olympian in history.
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Shirley Robertson is one of Britain and Scotland’s greatest ever Olympians. She won her second consecutive Olympic gold medal at the 2004 Athens Games. In 2008 she will endeavour to win gold, making her one of only 3 female athletes to win gold in 3 consecutive Olympic Games and also the leading British female Olympian in history.
SPORT BIO
Shirley started sailing at the age of 7 in a Mirror Miracle, which her father built from a kit in the garage of their home in Clackmannanshire, Scotland. She very quickly got the bug and her Olympic quest started after graduating from Heriot-Watt University in 1990.
Robertson sailed in the Europe class at the 1992 Barcelona Games finishing ninth, improving to fourth at the 1996 Atlanta Games where she was edged out of the medals by American Courtenay Becker-Day by two points.
However, by the late 1990s, she was one of the top Europe class racers in the world, having won silver medals at the 1998, 1999 and 2000 World Championships. Her excellent form continued into the Millennium Olympic Games in Sydney where she won her first Olympic gold medal - the first British woman ever to win an Olympic sailing gold medal.
Following her success in 2000, Shirley decided she needed a new challenge. In 2001 she switched to the new Yngling class and finished third at the 2002 Olympic Test Event and won the 2003 Pre-Olympic regatta.
At the 2004 Olympic regatta in Athens, Shirley and her crew showed their superior skills by winning from start to finish, fending off tough competition from the Danish and Ukraines to win Team GB’s first Gold with a day to spare.
In 2000 Shirley was voted ISAF 2000 World Female of the Year and she was awarded an MBE for her services to British Sailing. After the 2000 Games, Robertson took a short break from sailing and married Jamie Boag in June 2001. 2005 saw Shirley awarded with an OBE in the New Year’s Honours list. As navigator/helm, Shirley was also an integral part of the Patches campaign, which dominated Cowes in 05 and finished Runner-Up in the Fastnet.
SPECIALIST AREAS
Shirley is an excellent corporate speaker and ambassador. She has worked with many blue-chip companies who have used her for team building/corporate entertainment programs as well as for motivational speeches at sales conferences and award ceremonies. She has also worked as a presenter and commentator for the likes of the BBC and CNN.
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