Former Methodist College Belfast student Rebecca Shorten narrowly misses out on Olympic Games gold in dramatic rowing final
Former Methodist College Belfast student Rebecca Shorten narrowly missed out on winning Northern Ireland’s seventh Olympic Games gold medal in the women’s coxless four final alongside Helen Glover, Esme Booth and Sam Redgrave by a margin of 0.18 seconds in Paris.
Team GB headed into the medal race amongst the favourites after an impressive semi-final performance and followed it up with another stellar showing to win silver in a time of 6:27:31, ultimately edged out by the Netherlands.
Shorten previously celebrated winning coxless fours gold at the 2022 World Championships alongside success at the 2022 and 2024 European Championships – a journey which all started during her school days in Belfast and led her to sport’s biggest stage.
Rowing coach Enda Marron says Shorten’s ability was clear to see from early on and that the Team GB athlete has popularised the sport within the school, returning on occasion to help out.
"She walks in quite naturally, and she goes into the crew rooms, sometimes with a big bag of kit,” he told BBC Sport NI. “It's so easy for her to relate to the youngsters.
"Boys and girls alike, they see her and they want to emulate her. It is great and inspiring. Rebecca is being herself. She is a good-natured and kind girl. She is very good with her little niece and she has talked to the youngsters in primary school. That's just her, she is being Rebecca.
"I'm a lucky man, I have raced and rowed and trained with several Olympians. To say it's an aura, there's just something about them. As a sportsman who aspired to be good, I knew how hard I worked. To see someone who was able to beat me because they had natural ability, she has that and you could tell straight away.
"It gives me huge pride. Not so much for myself, but more in the school club knowing we can produce the best in the world. It's nice to know that there will be a little part of me on that start line in Paris, but it's all down to Rebecca."
This further adds to Glover’s remarkable Olympic legacy – the 38-year-old was Team GB flag bearer alongside diver Tom Daley at Friday’s opening ceremony and won gold at London 2012 and Rio 2016.