Caragh McMurtry
{{Short description|British rower}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}
{{Infobox sportsperson
| name = Caragh McMurtry
| image =
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| birth_name =
| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1991|8|22|df=yes}}
| birth_place = Southampton, England
| death_date =
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| height = 174 cm
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| sport = Rowing
| club = Southampton Coalporters ARC
}}
Caragh McMurtry (born 22 August 1991){{cite web |url=https://www.britishrowing.org/athlete/caragh-mcmurtry/ |title=Athlete: Caragh McMurtry |website=British Rowing |access-date=31 March 2024 }} is a British retired rower. She competed for Great Britain at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo.
Early life and education
McMurtry was born in Southampton, where she attended Bitterne Park School and Itchen College. She was introduced to rowing through British Rowing's Project Oarsome scheme and joined Coalporters Rowing Club.{{cite news |url=https://www.oxfordmail.co.uk/sport/worldcup2010/news/18959453.tokyo-hopeful-mcmurty-rowing-gave-direction-saved-life/ |title=Tokyo hopeful McMurtry: rowing gave me direction and saved my life |newspaper=Oxford Mail |date=21 December 2020 }}{{cite web |url=https://www.teamgb.com/athlete/caragh-mcmurtry/39pYHQZJvCj1q3Zj1zx8WL |title=Athlete: Caragh McMurtry |website=Team GB |access-date=31 March 2024 }} She later attended Reading University.
Rowing career
McMurtry made her international debut in 2009 at junior level in the Munich International Regatta, where she won silver in the coxless pair and gold in the coxless four. She then won silver in the four at the World Rowing Junior Championships in Brive-la-Gaillarde.
In 2012, with Olivia Carnegie-Brown, she won silver in pairs at the World Rowing U23 Championships in Trakai and the European Rowing Championships in Varese, and also rowed in the eight that won bronze at the European Championships.
She made her senior debut in the eight at the 2013 World Rowing Championships in Chungju, rowing to a silver medal at the 2014 European Championships in Belgrade, bronze in the second and third stages of that year's World Rowing Cup at Aiguebelette-le-Lac and Lucerne, and rowed stroke at the 2014 World Rowing Championships in Amsterdam. She was then forced to withdraw from competition due to illness, missing the 2016 Olympics in Rio.
In the 2017 World Rowing Cup, McMurtry rowed in the women's eight that took silver in the second stage at Poznań, then with Samantha Courty won the B final in pairs in the second stage at Lucerne. In the 2017 World Rowing Championships at Sarasota and again in the 2018 World Rowing Championships at Plovdiv, her four won the B final.
In June 2021 she was selected for the Great Britain rowing team at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, which were delayed a year by the COVID-19 pandemic.{{cite web |url=https://www.britishrowing.org/2021/06/british-olympic-association-selects-olympic-rowing-team-for-tokyo-2020/ |title=British Olympic Association selects Olympic rowing team for Tokyo 2020 |website=British Rowing |date=June 2021 |access-date=31 March 2024}}{{cite news |url=https://www.bbc.com/sport/rowing/57413326 |title=Tokyo 2020: Helen Glover named in GB Olympic rowing squad |website=BBC Sport |date=9 June 2021 }} She competed in the women's eight; Great Britain were eliminated in the repechage. She subsequently retired from competitive rowing.{{cite news |author=Rachel Steinberg |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/sport/adhd-simone-biles-michael-phelps-uk-sport-b2458668.html |title=Olympian Caragh McMurtry wants sport to be more inclusive of neurodiverse people |newspaper=The Independent |date=5 December 2023 }}
Personal life
McMurtry is married to professional cyclist Mikey Mottram. She was diagnosed with autism as an adult following a misdiagnosis of bipolar disorder that led to five years of drug treatments,{{cite news |author=Mike Henson |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/rowing/68554234 |title=Caragh McMurtry: Great Britain rower's neurodiversity journey |website=BBC Sport |date=18 March 2024}}{{Cite news |title=Caragh McMurtry: Former Great Britain rower on helping neurodivergent athletes |url=https://www.bbc.com/sport/rowing/64066224 |website=BBC Sport |date=23 December 2022 |access-date=31 March 2024 }}{{cite web |url=https://britisheliteathletes.org/2023/03/16/caragh-mcmurtry-shares-neurodivergence-story-after-bipolar-misdiagnosis/ |title=Caragh McMurtry shares neurodivergence story after bipolar misdiagnosis |website=British Elite Athletes Association |date=16 March 2023 }} and in 2022 she and her husband founded Neurodiverse Sport, to support other neurodiverse athletes and promote neuroinclusion within sport.{{cite magazine |author=Chris Marshall-Bell |url=https://www.cyclingweekly.com/fitness/up-to-one-in-seven-cyclists-are-neurodivergent-including-ef-boss-vaughters-who-considers-it-a-superpower |title=Up to one in seven cyclists are neurodivergent – including EF boss Vaughters, who considers it a superpower |magazine=Cycling Weekly |date=30 March 2024 }} In December 2023 she won an innovation award at the UK Sport PLx Awards for her work for neuroinclusion.{{cite news |author=Tom Wallace |url=https://www.dailyecho.co.uk/sport/23969486.olympic-rower-wins-innovation-award-neurodivergence-work/ |title=Olympic rower wins innovation award for neurodivergence work |newspaper=Daily Echo |date=5 December 2023 }} She has created artworks on commission.
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- {{World Rowing}}
- [https://www.britishrowing.org/athlete/caragh-mcmurtry/ Caragh McMurtry] at British Rowing
- {{Team GB}}
- {{Olympics.com|caragh-mcmurtry}}
- {{Olympedia}}
- {{Instagram}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:McMurtry, Caragh}}
Category:Sportspeople from Southampton
Category:British female rowers