Amber Bradley

Bradley was educated at Penrhos College, Perth where she took up rowing. She won the national Schoolgirl Scull title at the Australian Rowing Championships in 1997. She was first selected to represent Western Australian, age fifteen, in the 1996 youth eight competing for the Bicentennial Cup at the Interstate Regatta within the 1996 Australian Rowing Championships. From 1997 she was competing for Australia in crewed sculls but was still eligible for state youth eight selection as late as 2000 and she raced again in Western Australian youth eights at Australian Championships in 1999 and 2000. Bradley's senior rowing was done from the Edith Cowan University Perth Rowing Club. In ECU Perth Rowing Club colours she contested national titles at the Australian Championships on a number of occasions. She won the U19 single sculls title in 1996 and the U23 single sculls titles in 1999 (racing for the AIS). From 2002 to 2004 she was the Open Australian singles sculls champion and she also raced in that event in 2005, 2007 and 2008. ==International representative rowing==

Aged 16 Amber was selected as the Australian junior single sculls contestant for the 1997 World Rowing Junior Championships in Hazewinkel. She fought through the preliminary rounds with a second in the heat and a third place in the semi. However she raced a perfect final, leading at every mark and by 4 seconds at the 1500 m. She saw off a strong finish from the French sculler to take the gold and win her first World Championship. In 1998, she was selected in a development quad who competed at the Rowing World Cup III at Lucerne. At the World Rowing U23 Championships in Ioannina, Greece she raced in a double scull with Jess Morrison and finished eighth. The quad performed well in the lead up winning at the World Rowing Cup III in Lucerne. The World Champion quad with Jane Robinson replaced by Rebecca Sattin were still together for the 2004 Athen Olympics. They were fourth across the line in the final. After the medals had been presented it was discovered that a member of the third-placed Ukrainian crew failed the drugs test and Australia was elevated to the bronze medal position and Amber won her only Olympic medal. In 2005, Bradley rowed consistently in the Australian double scull with Queenslander Sally Kehoe who was at the beginning of her own stellar career. They placed at two World Rowing Cups that year and then won the bronze at the 2005 World Rowing Championships in Gifu, Japan. In 2006, Bradley switched from sculls to sweep-oared boats at the national representative level. She raced in a coxless pair and in the Australian women's senior eight at the World Rowing Cups I and II in Munich and Poznan. She was in the three seat of both the eight and the four for the 2006 World Rowing Championships at Eton, Dorney. The eight took the bronze and in the four with Jo Lutz, Robyn Selby Smith and Kate Hornsey, Bradley won the gold and her second senior World Championship title. In 2007, Bradley was sculling again and raced in the Australian quad at a World Rowing Cup and then in a double-scull with Kerry Hore who placed ninth at Munich 2007. Her final Australian appearances were in the Olympic year 2008 when she raced in the quad at two World Rowing Cups ahead of final role in the two seat of that boat who finished sixth in the final at Beijing 2008. == References ==