GUIN BATTEN

Guin was introduced to rowing by her sister at 19 whilst at Southampton University. In her early years Guin excelled in a variety of school sports, playing county hockey and athletics. At Leeds Metropolitan University as part of Wilf Paish athletics squad she became British Student Shot-put champion and competed for the successful Sale Harriers in the British League. Between athletics training and rowing Guin would make the odd appearance in the Leeds University Rugby side, until a dislocated shoulder brought this to the attention of her athletics coach.

In 1992 Guin turned her full attention to rowing and stroked the Thames Rowing Club eight that won at the National Championships. The following year whilst at Loughborough University she won her second and third national titles in the single and double sculls, going onto represent England at the Home Countries.

Guin burst into the International scene in the 1994 season. Coached by former international Roise Mayglothling, Guin made a remarkable jump from winning her first ever-sculling race to coming 8th in the World Cup in exactly 12 months to the day.

Later that season Guin made her Great Britain debut at the Indianapolis World Championships were she came 8th. 1995 saw Guin establish the current British record for the single scull (7:30.4) and qualify for the Atlanta Olympic Games at the Worlds Championships.

The defining moments in Atlanta for those that followed Guin's races were her trademark late finishes. Always just making the cut, Guin had to put out the reigning Olympic Champion just to make the final. This she did in the dying stages of the semi-final by rowing through the Olympic legend Elizathetha Lipa. In the final Guin produced another late surge to beat the American, claiming Britain's highest ever finishing place for a single and equaling the 5th place of the LA eight and the Barcelona Pair. The performance may not have been the glory of a medal but it was pushing the boundaries of women's international sculling in Britain onwards and upwards.

In 1997 and 1998 Guin consistently made the finals at the World Championships in her single, but by 1999 she was ready to move out of the single and into the Quad scull. With a total blank sheet a quad was formed, it showed promise but lacked the experience to realise that promise, but the seeds of the Sydney quad were being sewn. Just after dawn in the first race of the day at the 1999 World Championships in Canada, the Quad took the last available Olympic-qualifying slot by winning the B final. The die was cast for Sydney.


The Sydney quad made history by winning Britain's first ever women's Olympic rowing medal. It was an amazing achievement considering the crew had only been formed 5 weeks before and the Olympic Regatta was their first race together. The crew was a family affair as Miriam; Guin's elder sister sat in the stroke seat. The final was a thrilling race as Guin and the British crew took the silver medal by less than one hundredth of a second ahead of the Russians and less than a length behind Germany.

Guin retired from international rowing in April of 2003 after 18 months of battling against repeated viruses, but is still racing domestically this summer. Her next aim is to try and claim the female record for the English Channel, but tide and winds will play a big part in this vernture.

 

Academically Guin was educated at Dauntsey's School in Wiltshire. She completed a year at Southampton University reading Ship Science, but quickly moved onto Leeds Metropolitan University were she graduated with an honors degree in Human Movement Studies. In 1993 she completed a Masters in Sport Science from Loughborough University. Until 1996 Guin worked as an Exercise Physiologist at the British Olympic Medical Center working with elite athletes from across Britain. Since then she has been training as a full time athlete.