Sally Robbins rowed for Australia at the 2000 and 2004 Olympic Games, and also at the 2002 World Championships. Though a top-level rower, she is mostly known for her performance at the 2004 Olympic eights final. With 400 metres to go, she succumbed to exhaustion and fell back into the lap of her teammate, Julia Wilson. The Australian eight was near to medal contention at the time and her collapse may have cost the team a medal. A similar episode had occurred in the 2002 Worlds quad sculls final, when Australia was leading with 400 metres remaining, and Robbins also stopped rowing from exhaustion. She was castigated in the Australian press and by several of her teammates in both instances, and was given the nickname “Lay Down Sally”, because of these episodes. She attempted to qualify for the 2008 Australian Olympic rowing squad, but was unsuccessful.
Australia