News-County Durham rower goes for gold at Olympics final

Lauren Irwin

We are wishing Lauren Irwin the best of luck in Saturday's rowing final, where she will be part of Great Britain's (GB) Women's Eight.

The team have reached the final following their success on Monday, where they won their heat and will be competing against the current world champions Romania.

Cllr Joan Nicholson, our Chair, said: "We would like to wish the very best of luck to Lauren ahead of the finals this weekend.

"Lauren is a shining example of the sporting talent we have in the region, and it is absolutely fantastic that someone from County Durham is part of the team representing Great Britain at this year's Olympics.

"The team did a fantastic job in their first heat so I am sure they will be very proud of their achievements on Saturday."

International achievements

Lauren is part of Chester-le-Street Amateur Rowing Club, which operates out of our Riverside Complex, and has trained with the club from the age of 14.

In the years she has been with the club, the now 25-year-old has accumulated 13 international achievements including gold in the World Championships and World Cup, and silver in the European Championships.

Club support

Arran Lewcock, captain of the Chester-le-Street Amateur Rowing Club, said: "Lauren has been a part of the club for over a decade now and has had such a wonderful journey through junior club rowing, university rowing and then onto living the life of a professional athlete competing at the highest level.

"The two big emotions coming out of the club are the pride from all of us that knew her as a teenager making her way in the sport and then the inspiration she gives to all of our younger rowers who now can see a pathway from rowing at Chester-le-Street to taking part in the Olympic Games. We will be watching her final and cheering her on together as a club on Saturday morning, anyone who would like to join us is more than welcome".

Lauren will be competing as part of the GB Women's Eight team at 9.50am on Saturday, 3 August, at the Vaires-sur-Marne Nautical Stadium in Paris.