Rebecca Romero MBE

Rebecca is a very unique athlete. Already an Olympic silver medallist and World Champion in the sport of rowing, Rebecca took up cycling with the aim of achieving the same elite standard. In a rapid rise through the ranks in track cycling she shattered British records and became double World Champion and Olympic Champion all within two and a half years in the sport. 

This made her the first British women and only the second woman in history to medal in two different summer Olympic sports.  She is one of only two women to have ever won Olympic medals in two different sports (Rowing, Athens 2004 and Cycling, Beijing 2008), and the only Briton, male or female to do so.

After winning a silver medal at the 2004 Athens Olympics and a gold medal at the 2005 World Championships in the quadruple sculls, Rebecca began experiencing serious back problems. These issues, combined with a lack of motivation was a significant factor in her decision to retire from rowing in early 2006.

Despite this setback, Rebecca’s determination to continue competing in sports led her to switch to track cycling. Her transition was remarkably successful, culminating in a gold medal in the individual pursuit at the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

Rebecca retired from competitive cycling in December 2009. Her decision was influenced by the removal of the individual pursuit event from the Olympic program, which meant she couldn’t defend her title at the 2012 London Olympics.

Since retiring, Rebecca has led an interesting life from competitive cycling. She has been involved in various activities and pursuits and took on new challenges by competing in triathlons, including the Ironman 70.3 in Mallorca and the Ironman UK event and has been involved in coaching and mentoring young athletes, helping them to develop their skills and achieve their goals.

Inspirational Speaker
Rebecca has a truly great story to tell. It is a story of chasing dreams, soul searching and a quest to be the best. She reveals she was no child athlete prodigy, had no sporting influence and no ambition to be an Olympic athlete until a chance flick through the recreational section of the Yellow Pages opened up a fascinating journey to become one of the most successful and unique athletes this country has ever had.

In an emotional and passionate account she tells why her Olympic silver medal in Athens was a disappointment and how during the last two weeks before the Olympic final in Beijing, everything began to fall apart. Rebecca uncovers her frustrations, her struggles with the stress and pressure which she piled upon herself and how the desire for an Olympic Gold medal at times became all-consuming.

At the core of her story she unveils how she made the remarkable transition from rowing to cycling, explains how change was a necessity in order to improve and demonstrates the importance of having the right culture and environment for success. Rebecca presents a winning character so driven, committed, determined and focused and a winning mind so psychologically astute, that success was inevitable. Even Rebecca herself admits she ended up exceeding even her own expectations.

For the corporate world Rebecca’s story highlights the many parallels between business performance and sporting excellence by outlining her framework for high performance and how her no compromise approach and can-do-will-do-attitude were critical to her success. She emphasises how we can all be winners and what we need to do, and she challenges and motivates the audience to make themselves the best that they can be.

Book Rebecca Romero, Two Sport Olympic Medallist, Olympic and World Champion in Rowing and Cycling. To book Rebecca Romero for your next event, please call 020 3500 3331 or email info@primeperformers.co.uk