Georgina Emma Buchanan Earl ONZM (born 10 October 1978 in Hastings, New Zealand), better known under her maiden name Georgina Evers-Swindell, is a New Zealand former rower. She competed in the double sculls with her identical twin sister Caroline Evers-Swindell, and is a double Olympic gold medallist, having won at Athens in 2004 and Beijing in 2008. In November 2005 she and her sister were named Rowing Female Crew of the Year by the International Rowing Federation (FISA), and in 2016 they became the first New Zealanders to be awarded the federation's highest award, the Thomas Keller Medal.[1] She currently resides in Napier, New Zealand.
 Earl in 2009 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Birth name | Georgina Emma Buchanan Evers-Swindell | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Full name | Georgina Emma Buchanan Earl | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | 10 October 1978 Hastings, New Zealand | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 178 cm (5 ft 10 in) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 78 kg (172 lb) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Spouse | Sam Earl | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Sport | Rowing | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Club | Hamilton Rowing Club Hawkes Bay Rowing Club | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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Career
editIn 2001, she won silver at the World Championships in both the double and quadruple sculls. Together with her sister she won gold at both the 2002 and 2003 World Rowing Championships in the double sculls.
In 2002, she broke the indoor 2000 m rowing world record, recording a time of 6 minutes and 28.5 seconds beating the previous record by 2.1 seconds.
In the 2005 New Year Honours, she was made an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit, for services to rowing.[2]
At the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, she and her sister won gold medals in the women's double sculls, beating the German double by 1/100 of a second, 7:07.32 versus 7:07.33.[3] This was the first time in history that the women's double scull title had successfully been defended.[4] She and her sister announced their retirement from rowing in October 2008.[5]
In December 2008, she and her sister won the Lonsdale Cup which is awarded by the New Zealand Olympic Committee to the athlete/s who make the most outstanding contribution to an Olympic sport. They previously won the cup in 2003.[6]
Personal life
editIn January 2009, Evers-Swindell married Sam Earl, himself a former New Zealand rower and son of Olympic gold medallist rower Joe Earl.[7] Since then, she has styled herself Georgina Earl.[8]
Evers-Swindell is a member of the Sports Tribunal of New Zealand.[9]
References
edit- ^ "Olympic champion Kiwi twins honoured with prestigious award from World Rowing". Stuff. 21 May 2016. Retrieved 21 May 2016.
- ^ New Year Honours List 2005. Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet. Retrieved 2 January 2013.
- ^ Saturday's Olympic Rowing Results[permanent dead link], Associated Press, 16 August 2008. Accessed 23 August 2008.
- ^ Twins create two slices of History. New Zealand Herald, 25 August 2008. Accessed 25 August 2008
- ^ Evers-Swindells twins announcement retirement Archived 11 December 2008 at the Wayback Machine Dominion Post online, 9 October 2008. Accessed 9 October 2008
- ^ Retired rowing twins awarded Lonsdale Cup.Dominion Post online, 18 December 2008. Accessed 18 December 2008
- ^ Rowing golden girl Georgina Evers-Swindell ties the knot, 3news.co.nz, 11 January 2009. Accessed 1 February 2010.
- ^ Georgina Earl and Caroline Evers-Swindell[permanent dead link] page on a celebrity speakers agency website, retrieved 1 February 2010
- ^ "Georgina Earl ONZM (formerly Georgina Evers-Swindell)". Sports Tribunal of New Zealand. Retrieved 11 July 2021.
Sources
edit- Butcher, Margot (2010). Golden Girls: Celebrating New Zealand's six female Olympic gold medallists. Auckland: HarperSports/HarperCollins. pp. 84–105. ISBN 978-1-86950-892-0.
