Former GB rower taking artwork to Paris Olympics

A former Team GB rower, who now works as an artist, is set to showcase some of her artwork at the Paris 2024 Olympics.

Annabel Eyres, from the New Forest, is one of six global Olympian Artists selected to produce a collection of work for the event.

The former athlete, who competed at the 1992 Olympics in Barcelona said it is "a huge honour" and feels like a "second chance" at the games.

She described the eight artworks that she will take to France as "collages and papercuts" depicting "six different sports".

"My interest is simplifying the human form in motion," said Ms Eyres.

She added that her Olympic art has been inspired by the work of English photographer Eadweard Muybridge, who would photograph nude athletes as they performed their sporting disciplines.

This year will be the third time that Paris has hosted the games, having previously held it in 1900 and 1924.

The last time the city held the Olympics, art competitions like painting, sculpture and Literature featured as events.

Ms Eyres was studying art when she learnt to row at Pembroke College, Oxford, and competed in the Women's Boat Race in 1987 and 1988.

She said she initially made a living with her art by creating and selling t-shirts at rowing events.

The artist used the money she made from her t-shirt business to fund her rowing career, at a time when there was no sponsorship or lottery funding for athletes.

"I'm proud to say that we were totally self-funded," she added.

At the Barcelona Olympics she finished fifth alongside Alison Gill in the Double Scull final.

Reflecting on her rowing career, she said: "A lot of the time we were all working.

"We'd get up at five or six in the morning, train, go to work, come back, do weights, so it was really, really underfunded and we were basically true amateurs."

On her upcoming trip, she reflected: "I trained physically incredibly hard in 1992.

"I can't do that anymore but I've been able to invest so much time, focus and energy into creating these pieces of art which are going to go to Paris.

"I feel I'm very much involved in the Paris Olympics which isn't something I ever anticipated."

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