The medals may introduce her. The story is why she is here.
“Some of you will remember my Olympic journey, where my shattered bones exposed a resilience that surprised even me. My life after the medals has been an unfolding story, full of laughter, reflection, and the power of connection.”
I am a storyteller at heart, a lover of sharing tales and a listener to countless journeys.
Today I am focused on the transformative power of storytelling. Through it we heal, we grow, and we connect. I am the proud author of the best-selling book Unsinkable, and the heart and voice behind the original podcast Inflection Time. These are two ways I stay anchored to values that matter deeply to me: honesty, vulnerability, and empathy.
Beyond the medals I have delved deep into human truth, both sharing my own and embracing others. Life is about embracing joy, laughter, and a healthy dose of fun. Together, let us embrace all the new stories that unfold every day.
Eight turns in the story.
-
1984Los Angeles
A bronze medal with her sister
Her first Olympic Games, in the double sculls with Daniele. They came home to a banner strung under a railway bridge.
-
1988Seoul
Seventh, and a decision
A disappointing result in the double. After it, she moved almost entirely to the single scull, which meant the outcome was hers alone.
-
1991Vienna
World champion
She dominated the season and went into the Olympic year as the overwhelming favourite for gold in Barcelona.
-
1992Essen, then Barcelona
Seventy-three days
A German men’s crew rammed her shell in a warm-up area and shattered her right leg. Five operations. Told she would never row again. She arrived in Barcelona walking to her boat with a cane, and took bronze.
-
1996Atlanta
Silver, and the last race
The gold-medal favourite again. A mid-race challenge in the final race of her career left her second. Three Olympic medals in total: one silver, two bronze.
-
2015Toronto
Canada's Walk of Fame
Inducted seventeen years after Canada’s Sports Hall of Fame, by which point the racing had become the smaller part of the story.
-
2019Canada
Unsinkable
She founded a national mental health platform built on storytelling, after writing the memoir that made her tell her own.
-
2024The studio
Inflection Time
The podcast. Twenty-one long conversations, each one about the moment someone’s life changed direction.
Nine international medals. Three of them gold.
The Barcelona bronze is the one everyone remembers. It is not the best race she ever rowed.
Olympic Games
- silver 1996 Atlanta Single sculls
- bronze 1992 Barcelona Single sculls
- bronze 1984 Los Angeles Double sculls
World Championships
- gold 1991 Vienna Single sculls
- silver 1990 Tasmania Single sculls
- silver 1995 Tampere Single sculls
Pan American Games
- gold 1987 Indianapolis Single sculls
- gold 1995 Mar del Plata Single sculls
Summer Universiade
- bronze 1987 Zagreb Single sculls
Also raced
- 7th Olympic Games, double sculls, Seoul 1988
- 4th Single sculls, World Championships 1985
- 7th Single sculls, World Championships 1989
Recognition, in the order it arrived.
- 1991 Lou Marsh Trophy, Canada’s athlete of the year
- 1991 & 1992 Bobbie Rosenfeld Award, Canadian Press female athlete of the year
- 1993 Canadian Olympic Association Award of Merit
- 1994 Meritorious Service Cross
- 1995 Canadian Olympic Order
- 1998 Canada's Sports Hall of Fame
- 1999 Thomas Keller Medal, rowing’s highest career honour
- 2002 Queen's Golden Jubilee Medal
- 2004 Ontario Sports Hall of Fame
- 2015 Canada's Walk of Fame
Member of the international board of Right To Play, 2000 to 2015.
Unsinkable
Writing the memoir meant telling the truth about things she had not said out loud. Unsinkable turned that into an organisation: a national platform that helps Canadians tell their own mental health stories, with youth programs, community champions, and workplace sessions.
Visit weareunsinkable.comOne story, once a week, from someone who has been through it.
A short letter about a moment that changed someone’s life, what it taught them, and a question you might carry into your own week. No course launches, no countdown timers.