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Lesley Allison Thompson-Willie (born September 20, 1959) is a Canadian rowing coxswain and Olympic champion. Between 1984 and 2016, she has competed at eight Olympic Games, a record for a rower, winning medals in five of them including gold in the eight at the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona.[1][2]
| Medal record | ||
|---|---|---|
| Women's rowing | ||
Representing  Canada | ||
| Olympic Games | ||
 | 1992 Barcelona | Eight |
 | 1984 Los Angeles | Coxed four |
| 1996 Atlanta | Eight |
| 2012 London | Eight |
 | 2000 Sydney | Eight |
| World Championships | ||
| 1991 Vienna | Eight |
| 2010 Lake Karapiro | Eight |
| 2011 Lake Bled | Eight |
| 1984 Montreal | Eight |
| 1985 Hazewinkel | Coxed four |
| 1986 Nottingham | Coxed four |
| 1998 Cologne | Eight |
| 1999 St. Catharines | Eight |
| 2015 Aiguebelette | Eight |
| Commonwealth Games | ||
| 1986 Edinburgh | Coxed four |
At the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles Thompson competed in the Women's Coxed Four event; the Canadian team won a silver medal behind gold winner Romania. At the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul the Canadian team qualified for the B final in the coxed four, and placed 7th.[2] At the 1991 World Championships in Austria she won a gold medal in the eight with the Canadian team. Next year, at the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona she competed in the eight, winning a gold medal for Canada. In 1996 in Atlanta she won a silver medal in the eight.[2] At the 1998 World Championships in France she placed second in the eight.[3] At the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney she won a bronze medal in the eight. At the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, she coxed the Canadian eight boat that finished in fourth.[2] When the Canadian eights won silver at the 2012 London Olympics[4] she became the first Canadian to win medals at five different Olympic Games.[5]
A former track athlete, she also competed in gymnastics until 1983. She lives in London and St. Catharines and is affiliated with the London RC Club.[3] She was elected to the Canadian Olympic Hall of Fame in 1994.
She initially retired after the 2000 Sydney Olympics, missing the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens.[5] Her appearance at the 2008 Olympics, when her team lost out on a medal by 0.79 seconds, began back in 2005 when she made a joke to rowing coach Al Morrow[6] about going to Beijing. When he replied, "Really?", she began training.[7]
Aged 56, Thompson-Willie coxed the women's eight for Canada at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro. Her crew would go on to finish 5th.[8] As of 2019 she continues to train with the national team and has been named as coxswain of the Canadian men's eight for the World Rowing Cup.[9]
She is one of only nine athletes who have competed at eight Olympic Games with her record standing alone among rowers.
Thompson-Willie is a graduate of the University of Western Ontario.[5] She was a teacher-librarian and physical education teacher at South Secondary School in London, Ontario but retired in 2018. She married Dr. Paul Willie in 2000,[10] but still competed as Lesley Thompson at the 2000 Sydney Olympics.[11] Her husband is a professor of accounting, finance, and hotel management at Niagara College.[12]
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