Uckfield woman triumphs as she represents England in rowing

Uckfield-born Francesca Rawlins triumphed when she represented England at the Home International Regatta in Cardiff Bay on Saturday.

She competed in the lightweight single and quad sculls and won the lightweight single.

The 25-year-old, whose parents still live in Browns Lane, was approached by England scouts after she collected a bronze medal for lightweight single skulls at the national Rowing Championships held earlier this month in Nottingham, according to her brother Henry.

Henry said this was just one step in search of her goal to achieve a place in the GB rowing lightweight squad and ultimately to compete for her country in the Olympics.

Fran, who attended Buxted Primary School and then Uckfield Community Technology College, began rowing at Cambridge University where she captained the Women’s Lightweight (CUWBC) Eight to an historic win against Oxford in 2008.

She used to work and train at the Uckfield Leisure Centre but now lives in London to be close to the Thames for training purposes. She is a member of the Mortlake Anglian and Alpha Boat Club.

Fran can be followed on Twitter at @FRrowing and her website www.fr-rowing.co.uk launches soon in an attempt to raise money to support her development.

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