Joanna Rowsell Explained

Joanna Rowsell
MBE
Fullname:Joanna Rowsell [1]
Birth Date:5 December 1988
Birth Place:Carshalton, Greater London, England
Amateuryears1:2005–2006
Amateurteam1:VC Londres
Proyears1:2007-2017
Proteam1:Global Racing[2]
Proyears2:2008
Proteam2:Team Halfords Bikehut
Proyears3:2009
Proteam3:100% ME
Proyears4:2011–2012
Proteam4:Horizon Fitness RT
Proyears5:2013–2014
Proyears6:2015–2017
Proteam6:Pearl Izumi Sports Tours International

Joanna Katie Rowsell MBE (born 5 December 1988[3]) is a retired English cyclist on the Great Britain Cycling Team who competed on track and road.

Her greatest successes were the gold medals won in the women's team pursuit at the 2012 London Olympics and the 2016 Rio Olympics as well as five World Championship titles, four in the team pursuit (2008, 2009, 2012 and 2014) plus one in the individual pursuit at the 2014 World Championships.[4]

She currently holds the World Record in the 3 km team pursuit.

Rowsell first came to national prominence as a winner of junior national competitions in 2005/2006.

Early life

Rowsell was born in Carshalton in the London Borough of Sutton. She attended Cuddington Croft Primary School from 1993 to 2000 and Nonsuch High School for Girls from 2000 to 2007.

She competed for Sutton in the London Youth Games.

Career

Rowsell was picked up by British Cycling's Talent Team programme in 2004, after being tested at her school.[5] Her first major wins came in 2005 and 2006. As a junior, she won the British National Track Championships pursuit in both these years, whilst in senior competition on the road she won the 2006 British National Women's Series competition. She represented the UK at the European and World Junior Track and Road Championships in these years.

In 2006, she also finished third in the British National Championship and subsequently signed for the professional team Global Racing for the 2007 season. In her first year as a senior, she finished third in the 3 km pursuit and the points race at the National Track Championships. On the road, she finished second in the British National Circuit Race Championships.

2008 saw Rowsell join the new Nicole Cooke-led Team Halfords Bikehut.[6] She also continued to compete on the track, winning her first World Title at the 2008 World Championships in Manchester as part of the women's pursuit team.[7]

In 2012, she won in preparation for the Olympics at the Track Cycling World Cup in London both the team pursuit and the individual pursuit in February. Rowsell was a member of the team pursuit squad alongside Dani King and Laura Trott, when they won the team pursuit event and set a new world record at the 2011–12 UCI Track Cycling World Cup in London. They broke the record again at the 2012 UCI Track Cycling World Championships. At the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, Rowsell won a gold medal for the team pursuit alongside King and Trott.[8] Having already set world record times in both the qualifying and semi-finals in this event, the team also went on to set a new world record time of 3:14.051 in the final.[9]

In 2013, Rowsell broke her collarbone at the London cycling festival but, five weeks later, after an operation and training on a Wattbike with a pillow on the bars, she won the Women's Pursuit on the track at the International Belgian Open in Ghent.[10]

In September 2014 Rowsell announced that she would be leaving the Wiggle-Honda team and joining the Pearl Izumi Sports Tours International squad on a two-year deal from 2015.[11] In 2016, Rowsell won a gold medal in the Team Pursuit at the Rio Olympics.

On 14 March 2017, Rowsell announced that she was retiring from the sport. "The decision to step away has been the hardest I've ever had to make," she said. "I believe I have more to offer the world."[12] [13]

Personal life

Rowsell has alopecia areata, a condition resulting in hair loss.[14] [15]

She is a descendant of the Swiss inventor Jean Samuel Pauly.[16]

She was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the 2013 New Year Honours for services to cycling.

Her younger brother Erick Rowsell is a road racing cyclist.[17]

Rowsell married Daniel Shand in July 2015[18] and then competed as Joanna Rowsell Shand. The marriage ended in divorce in 2020.

After retirement, she studied human biology at Manchester Metropolitan University,[19] before becoming a medical student at St. George's Hospital Medical School in 2020.[20] [21]

Major results

2005
  • 1st Individual pursuit, National Junior Track Championships
    2006
  • 1st Individual pursuit, National Junior Track Championships
  • 1st National Women's Road Race Series
  • 3rd National Road Race Championships
    2007
  • 2nd National Criterium Championships
  • National Track Championships
  • 3rd Individual pursuit
  • 3rd Points race
    2008
  • 1st Team pursuit, UCI Track World Championships
  • UCI Track Cycling World Cup
  • 1st Team pursuit – Manchester
  • 1st Team pursuit – Melbourne
  • 1st Individual pursuit – Melbourne
  • 3rd Individual pursuit – Manchester
  • 1st National Criterium Championships
  • National Road Championships
  • 1st Under–23
  • 3rd Senior
  • UEC European U23 Track Championships
  • 1st Team Pursuit (with Lizzie Armistead and Katie Colclough)
  • 3rd Individual Pursuit
    2009
  • 1st Team pursuit, UCI Track World Championships
  • 08–09 UCI Track Cycling World Cup
  • 1st Team pursuit – Copenhagen
  • 3rd Individual pursuit – Copenhagen
  • 09–10 UCI Track World Cup
  • 1st Team pursuit – Manchester
  • 2nd Team pursuit – Melbourne
    2010
  • 3rd National Criterium Championships
    2011
  • 1st Team pursuit, UEC European Track Championships
  • 1st Team pursuit, UCI Track World Cup
  • National Track Championships
  • 1st Individual pursuit
  • 1st Team pursuit
  • 3rd Points race
    2012
  • 1st Team pursuit, Olympic Games
  • 1st Team pursuit, UCI Track World Championships
  • UCI Track World Cup
  • 1st Team pursuit
  • 1st Individual pursuit
    2013
  • 1st Team pursuit, UEC European Track Championships
  • 1st Individual Pursuit, International Belgian Open
  • 1st National Time Trial Championships
    2014
  • UCI Track World Championships
  • 1st Team pursuit
  • 1st Individual pursuit
  • 1st Individual pursuit, Commonwealth Games
  • 1st Team pursuit, UEC European Track Championships
  • National Track Championships
  • 1st Team pursuit
  • 3rd Individual pursuit
    2015
  • 1st Team pursuit, UEC European Track Championships
  • 1st Individual Pursuit, Revolution – Round 1, Derby
  • 1st Team pursuit, National Track Championships
  • 1st Stage 2 Tour of the Reservoir
  • 2nd Team pursuit, UCI Track World Championships
    2016
  • 1st Team pursuit, Olympic Games

    See also

    External links

    Notes and References

    1. Web site: Joanna Rowsell . . British Cycling. 15 August 2015.
    2. Web site: Interview: Getting to know British rider Joanna Rowsell . March . Imelda . 7 February 2012 . Daily Peloton . 29 October 2013 . https://web.archive.org/web/20150402150239/http://www.dailypeloton.com/displayarticle.asp?pk=19783 . 2 April 2015 . dead .
    3. [General Register Office|GRO]
    4. Web site: Joanna Rowsell . Joanna Rowsell . 2017-06-05.
    5. Web site: About. joannarowsell.com. 9 October 2011. https://web.archive.org/web/20110821045631/http://www.joannarowsell.com/about.html. 21 August 2011. dead.
    6. http://www.teamhalfordsbikehut.com Team halfords bikehut website
    7. Web site: Britain's women's pursuit team takes gold. Justin . Davis. Bikeradar.com. Future Publishing. 29 March 2008. 29 March 2008.
    8. Web site: Olympics cycling: British women win team pursuit track gold. Chris . Bevan. BBC. 4 August 2012.
    9. Web site: am GB win gold medal in women's team pursuit with world record time. https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220609/https://www.independent.co.uk/sport/olympics/cycling/team-gb-win-gold-medal-in-womens-team-pursuit-with-world-record-time-8007406.html . 9 June 2022 . subscription . live. Matt . McGeehan . Rory . Dollard. The Independent. 4 August 2012.
    10. Rowsell rouses from injury: Cycling Weekly, Thursday 12 September 2013
    11. Web site: Joanna Rowsell: Pearl Izumi move helps Olympic cycling bid . McDaid . David . 9 September 2014 . . 10 September 2014.
    12. Web site: Joanna Rowsell : Double Olympic gold medallist retires . BBC . 14 March 2017 . . 13 March 2017.
    13. Web site: Announcement . 14 March 2017 . 14 March 2017 . Rowsell . Joanna . joannarowsell.com.
    14. News: Alopecia no barrier to Cheam cyclist Joanna Rowsell's quest for London 2012 gold. Sutton Guardian . . Sophia . Sleigh . 24 February 2012 . 4 August 2012.
    15. News: London 2012 Olympics: GB cycling champion Joanna Rowsell reveals how alopecia spurred her to gold success . The Daily Telegraph . 21 February 2012 . 4 August 2012.
    16. https://www.familysearch.org/tree/person/details/GLJG-H61 Family Search, "Family Tree"
    17. Web site: Rowsell backs Aussies, Kiwis . Agence France-Presse . Agence France-Presse . 5 October 2010 . . 21 October 2013 .
    18. Web site: Olympic Medallist Joanna Rowsell Hosts Wedding at Heaton House Farm . 16 February 2016.
    19. Web site: Olympic athlete settles into student life at Manchester Met. Manchester Metropolitan University. 1 November 2017. 12 September 2020.
    20. Joanna Rowsell: Double Olympic gold to medicine. Inside Tri Show. 19 August 2020. 12 September 2020. 07:30.
    21. JoRowsellMBE. 12 September 2020. 8 August 2020. 1292019825913602055. So yesterday, after meeting all of my offer conditions, my place at medical school was confirmed! As of 2 weeks on Monday I will officially be a medical student #maturestudent #lifeaftersport.

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