Rowing Australia: Sarah Tait loses hard-fought cancer battle

Sarah and Leila Tait in London (Photo from Tait's memorial slideshow)

In memory of Sarah Tait.

We've included the press release from Rowing Australia here, as well as some remembrances from other athletes and peers.

Source: Rowing Australia

Canberra, 3 March 2016: Rowing Australia is deeply saddened to learn of the passing of Australian Rowing Team member and Olympic silver medallist, Sarah Tait.

Sarah had been battling cancer since the birth of her second child, Luca, in March 2013, and in February 2014 made the decision to step away from rowing to battle the disease, a battle she sadly lost on 3 March 2016.

Born, Sarah Anne Outhwaite, on 23 January 1983 in Perth, Western Australia to parents Simon and Barbara Outhwaite, she grew up with her three brothers in the suburb of Wembley Downs and began rowing in Year Nine and her passion for the sport stuck.

On behalf of the Tait and Outwaite families, Bill Tait, Sarah’s husband, said: “The Tait and Outhwaite families are sad to inform of the peaceful passing of Sarah Tait after a long and hard-fought battle with cancer.

“Bill, Leila, Luca and the wider Tait and Outhwaite families continue to be grateful for the support and love that has been shared with Sarah and them through this difficult time. The families are enormously proud of the positive impact Sarah has made on so many throughout her life, and know she will be dearly missed.”



An Environmental Science and Agriculture graduate, Sarah made her first appearance on the international rowing scene, when in 2000, she won a silver medal in the Junior Women’s Four at the World Rowing Junior Championships in Zagreb, Croatia.

From that day forward, Sarah never looked back competing at three Olympic Games (2004, 2008 and 2012) with her final Olympics being the one that saw her win a silver medal alongside Kate Hornsey in the Women’s Pair, the crew was coached by husband, Bill.

At the time of her retirement in 2014, Sarah said her greatest achievement in rowing was taking home a silver medal at London 2012, saying: “Without a doubt, my greatest achievement has to have been combining with Kate and our coach, Bill, to take home that silver medal for Australia in the London 2012 Olympics. Bill has been a great support and in last eight years has made the most amazing difference to my rowing career, and my life, both as my husband and my coach."

In her time in the team she won numerous accolades including gold and silver in the 2005 World Rowing Championships and bronze in the 2011 World Rowing Championships while she captained the Australian Women’s Rowing Team for both the Beijing (2008) and London (2012) Olympics.

Sarah received her McVilly-Pearce pin, she was rower number 651, alongside her World Championship winning Women’s Eight crewmates late last year.

Rowing Australia President, Rob Scott, said: “Sarah represented Australia with distinction and pride and she was the most fantastic role model to all our athletes, both past and present.

“She was one of the most determined and passionate rowers in our sport and she will be deeply missed by everyone in the rowing community. The entire Australian rowing community sends its thoughts and best wishes to Bill, the children and Sarah’s family at this tragic time.”

Australian Rowing Team Head Coach, Chris O’Brien, echoed Mr Scott’s words saying: “Sarah has been, and will continue to be, an inspiration to many Australian rowers. She was a strong role model to many young athletes but was particularly influential with our emerging female athletes.

“Her spirit for rowing was paralleled with her dedication to her family and friends. Sarah was one of rowing’s most successful and impressive female athletes who has left a permanent mark on our sport. I was personally inspired by Sarah’s pursuit of success in sport and life. She will be sadly missed.”

A member of Swan River RC in Western Australia and Mercantile RC in Victoria, Tait gave birth to her and Bill’s first child, Leila, in 2009 and their second, Luca in 2013. A rowing scholar of the Western Australian Institute of Sport (WAIS) and more recently the Victorian Institute of Sport (VIS), she is survived by her husband Bill, children Leila and Luca, parents Simon and Barbara, along with the extended family.

Rowing Australia will be providing support for any athletes, coaches and support staff effected during this difficult time. Further details of a memorial to celebrate Sarah’s life will be released in due course.

---

In memoriam.












Sarah Tait was an outstanding athlete, and role model on and off the water. The rowing world is poorer today.

-RR

Trending posts this month

"I Row Crew" — Rowing in 'The Social Network'

Image
Like many of the rowing faithful, I've been keeping up with the saga penned by Dan Boyne about the filming of the rowing scenes in David Fincher and Aaron Sorkin's The Social Network , and I must say I had high hopes going into the film. The first problem I encountered: the phrase, "I row crew." It was uttered so many times before anyone "rowed crew" on the water that I had trouble buying any of it later. It's understandable that the character of Mark Zuckerberg makes that mistake, since he has no idea about the sport. But when the Winklevoss twins themselves utter the phrase several times, one begins to wonder where Boyne was when these lines were not being chopped or changed. Seriously, who says that? As far as the actual rowing goes, the first scene, which has the twins out training in a pair along with the rest of the Harvard squad, is not all bad — it just ends that way. The line, "Those guys are freakin' fast" is certainly every b...
Read more

The 30 Best Rowing Coaches of All Time, Part 3: The Top 10

Image
The top 10 best rowing coaches, including guess who (Photo © Iain Weir / Rowing Photography ) It's time for the third and final part of our 3-part series on the best of the best in the rowing coaching ranks. These coaches not only command respect based on performance, but have also shown the ability to adapt to new circumstances, build dynasties, and ultimately help shape the trajectory of rowing as a sport. Honestly, it would be easy to extend this series into 10 more posts... But we wouldn't do that to you. As we've said before, the hope is that the following may serve to educate and spark discussion, as both an appreciation of history and of the coaching craft. Also note: As we stated in Part 1 and Part 2 of this series, there are few women in this list, but that is a reflection of a general underrepresentation of women in the head coaching ranks in our sport—and indeed (as has been well documented ) a growing number of NCAA sports in the United States. ...
Read more

Winter Workouts: Why Do Rowers Fear the Erg?

Image
Op-Ed from the RowingRelated Editorial Staff Friend. Not foe. (Illustration: B. Kitch) I am really frustrated by our sport when it comes to the erg being viewed as a torture device rather than a helpful tool that people can enjoy. This negative mindset, which is extremely contagious, plagues the sport, preventing athletes from training to their potential and possibly serving as one of the reasons that careers in rowing, at every level, are often so short. When compared to other endurance sports, I have not encountered an equal level of disdain for such fundamental mental and physical endurance training. My main problem is that everywhere I turn in the rowing community, whether it's high school rowers, college athletes, or even national team hopefuls, I hear of people dreading the erg. I've never heard about a cross country runner 'dreading' a track workout. True, basketball and football players may dread running wind sprints or other such conditioning acti...
Read more

So, are Naked Rowing Calendars a Thing Now?

Image
Warwick rowers are all in again this year (Photo courtesy of Warwick Boat Club)  The phenomenon started four years ago with the Warwick Rowing men's squad. Then, the following year, the Warwick women's team joined the fray. Now, Newcastle University's men and women are back on the naked calendar train. So, the question is, have rowing and naked calendars become a thing? The above video features the 2014-2015 Warwick women's squad—the third edition of the calendar , and, from the looks of it, the raciest. However, perhaps not so racy as that of the 2014-2015 Warwick men (see below). But raciness aside, all four of these teams have chosen worthy charities and have gone "the full monty" to make sure that those causes have received considerable contributions. The Warwick women contribute to Macmillan Cancer Support —a cause for which Warwick reports it has donated some £5,000. The Warwick men? Sport Allies —a charity that combats homophobia in spor...
Read more

Will It Make the Boat Go Faster? At Marin Rowing Association, Culture is Key

Image
Hands in after training  My alarm goes off—it’s 4:22am.  It’s been a while since I did this. Immediately, I think back to a college dorm room, rolling out of bed and running down the steps to carpool caravan to Marina Del Rey.  Not this time, though. It’s a Tuesday in late September, and I’m heading across the Golden Gate Bridge to Greenbrae, California, where I’ll meet with the Marin Rowing Men’s Masters squad. Fortunately, it’s an unusually warm morning—and when I roll in, the boathouse is already buzzing with activity.  Launch time: 5:10. Heading out into the Bay before dawn The Marin Rowing Association program has both men’s and women’s masters boats competing to win at every event they attend. In the fall, that can only mean one thing: The Head Of The Charles .  The boat that Coach Rodrigo Rodrigues and I spend most of our time with is the Grand Masters eight—average age 60+. But that’s just one of five crews that launched with us that morning. Everyone’s ...
Read more