Penelope Ann Chuter, OBE[2] (28 July 1942 – 16 November 2024) was a British international sculler, rowing coach and rowing administrator.
 Chuter in 1964 | ||||||||||||
| Personal information | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Born | 28 July 1942[1] Dunfermline, Fife, Scotland | |||||||||||
| Died | 16 November 2024 (aged 82) Mylor Bridge, Cornwall, England | |||||||||||
| Height | 1.72 m (5 ft 8 in) | |||||||||||
| Weight | 89 kg (196 lb) | |||||||||||
| Sport | ||||||||||||
| Sport | Rowing | |||||||||||
| Club | Laleham Skiff and Punting Club, The Skiff Club, Thames Valley Skiff Club, United Universities Women’s Boat Club, Burway Rowing Club, Thames Rowing Club, Leander Club, Wallingford Rowing Club, Carrick Rowing Club Cornwall | |||||||||||
Medal record
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Early life
editChuter was born in Dunfermline, Scotland, in July 1942. Her mother, Gladys Vine-Jackman, was a competitive swimmer,[3] and had been selected for the 1932 Olympic Games, but had not been able to afford to go.[4][5] Her father, Derek Chuter, worked in films. After the end of the second world war, Chuter and her family moved to Laleham, Middlesex, where they lived by the river Thames. From the age of five, Chuter rowed across the river to attend primary school.[4]
Punting, sculling and rowing career
editChuter joined the Laleham skiff and punting club at the age of 12.[5] She won her first punting championship in 1957, aged 15, and her first sculling championship in 1958.[4]
Chuter competed for Great Britain in the women's single scull event at the European Rowing Championships each year from 1960 to 1964, winning the silver medal in 1962.[2][6][7] She was not able to compete in the Olympic games at the time, as the Olympic regatta was restricted to men.[4] In 1964, she retired from international competition and started training as a physical education teacher.[8][6]
In 1973, the Amateur Rowing Association (ARA) appointed Chuter as its first national coach with responsibility for women's rowing. She remained with the ARA for about twenty years, becoming its chief coach for men's rowing from 1979 to 1982, then Director of Coaching from 1982 to 1986 and Director of International Rowing from 1986 to 1990.[7] Her trainees included a 1992 Olympian Wade Hall-Craggs.[1] In 1994 Chuter was appointed chief coach to the Oxford University Boat Club, and then in 1997, she moved to work for Sport England. Chuter retired in 2002, and moved to Cornwall.[4]
In Cornwall, Chuter continued to row and sail. She helped to found the Carrick rowing club in Falmouth, and was a coach at the Flushing & Mylor pilot gig club in Flushing,_Cornwall. Chuter helped to guide Flushing and Mylor to a silver medal at the World Pilot Gig Championships in 2016.[4][5]
Death
editChuter died in Mylor Bridge, Cornwall on 16 November 2024, at the age of 82.[9]
Awards and recognition
editChuter received an OBE in 1989,[8] and the FISA Distinguished Services to Rowing Award in 2006.[10] She was also recognised with the British Amateur Rowing Association medal of honour in 2006.[4]
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Chuter carrying single scull (1964)
References
edit- ^ a b Penny Chuter at World Rowing
- ^ a b Rudern – Europameisterschaften (Damen – Einer). sport-komplett.de
- ^ "Miss Gladys Jackman wins five mile championship". Hampshire Telegraph. 26 July 1929. p. 22.
- ^ a b c d e f g Dodd, Christopher (15 December 2024). "Penny Chuter obituary". Guardian online.
- ^ a b c Smalman-Smith, Helena (2017). "Penny Chuter - Rowing Story".
- ^ a b Schweinbenz, Amanda Nicole (2007). Paddling Against the Current: A History of Women's Competitive International Rowing Between 1954 and 2003. University of British Columbia. pp. 280–282. ISBN 9780494319222.
- ^ a b Houlihan, Barrie (2002). The Politics of Sport Development. Routledge. p. 170. ISBN 9780415277495.
- ^ a b "Pushing against the current: Penny Chuter". World Rowing E-Magazine (Autumn-Winter 2006). FISA: 8–9. Retrieved 5 August 2012.
- ^ Armstrong, Paul (26 November 2024). "Tributes paid to giant of the rowing world who changed face of event for women". Falmouth Packet. Retrieved 8 December 2024.
- ^ "World Rowing Awards". worldrowing.com.
Further reading
edit- Redgrave, Steve; Townsend, Nick (2004). A Golden Age: The Autobiography. Random House. ISBN 9780563538219.