As a retired Olympian, she has perfected how to maintain mental resilience making her a role model for both aspiring athletes and those looking to thrive within business. A whirlwind of a career began for Copeland at the early age of 14. She first began to learn to row at Yarm School before joining and graduating from the British Rowing World Class Start Tees Rowing Club.
Taking her passion to the next level, Katherine won gold at various events including the 2009 Australian Youth Olympic Festival as well as rowing at three consecutive World Under 23 Championships. To top off her early career, she managed to finish first in the lightweight women’s sculls at the Rowing Team Senior Trials and therefore earned herself a place at her first Olympics.
With her first international senior debut being the 2012 London Olympics, the pressure was on for Copeland who was partnered with Sophie Hosking in the Lightweight Women’s Double Sculls event. To the shock of the world and even Copeland, the partnership managed to finish above the Greek favourites and achieve first place. Arguably the most successful senior debut also contributed to Team GB’s most successful day in the Games and earned her an MBE at the 2013 New Year Honours.
Since the 2012 Games, Copeland has won a silver medal at the 2015 World Rowing Championships and a gold at the 2015 European Rowing Champions. She has also competed in her second Olympic Games in Rio 2016 where she and Charlotte Taylor finished in 14th place. Alongside her huge sporting career, Katherine also works as a teacher of autistic children. She offers after school classes in art and sport to those with the learning and social development disorder.
Now taking to stages across the UK as a motivational speaker, Copeland is able to capture the attention of even the largest audiences with compelling stories from her 11-year career. She combines the lessons she has learnt from training with her experiences from competing to offer tips and advice on how to achieve peak performance. She is also able to tailor her speeches to a whole variety of functions including corporate, school and sporting events making her the perfect addition to any occasion.
