Genevieve Horton

Fast Facts

Sport: Rowing 
Event: Women’s Sweep Squad 
Olympic History: Rio 2016; Tokyo 2020 
Coach: Tom Westgarth and John Keogh (Head Coach)
Highlights: Representing Australia at the 2016 Rio Olympic Games 
Year Born: 1995 
Born: North Sydney, NSW 

About Genevieve

Genevieve Horton competed at her first Olympic Games at Rio, partnering with Sally Kehoe in the Women’s Double Sculls as the youngest member of the Australian Rowing Team at the Games.

After a second place finish in their heat, Horton and Kehoe advanced to the Semi-Finals, where the Aussies were drawn in a tough race, taking on reigning Olympic Champions Great Britain as well as Poland, who had won World Cups 1 and 3 that season. The duo was quick out the start and sat comfortably in third throughout the first half of the race, led by the Poles and the British.

As the crew approached the 1500 metre mark, the French began to make their move to pass the Australians. With other crews out in front, the battle came down to the Australians and the French as to who would qualify for the A-Final, with the French pipping the Australians to the post to take the place in the A-Final. Kehoe and Horton finished their 2016 Olympic campaign with a third-place finish in the B-Final.

A Sydney-local, Horton made her international debut for Australia in 2013.

The Sydney University Boat Club athlete won gold in The Australian Senior Women's Eight the 2013 World Rowing Cup in Sydney before going on to become the Junior World Champion alongside Jessie Allen in the Junior Women’s Pairs event later that year.

In 2014, Horton and Allen once again paired up and this time won a bronze medal at the 2014 U23 World Rowing Championships. In 2015, Horton made her first senior crew at a World Rowing Championships, competing in the Women’s Pair, where she finished 13th overall.

Post-event Horton re-evaluated her rowing options and returned to sculling in a bid to secure a place in the Olympic team and after some strong performances at selection trials was selected to compete alongside Kehoe in 2016. 

Once returning to Australia, Horton transitioned to the Women’s Quadruple Sculls where she featured in the 2017 World Rowing Cups 2 and 3, as well as the World Championships. The Sydney native collected two silvers and one bronze in the competitions, and became a regular fixture in the Quadruple Sculls crew.  

Horton competed at her second Olympic Games in 2021 at the Tokyo Olympics where she was a key and experienced leader for the Australian Women's Eight. 

There, the crew advanced to the Final via the repechage after finishing third in their heat behind the USA and Romania. Their position in the Final was secured after a fourth place finish in the repechage.

The crew looked to finish their Games regatta on a high and started fast in the Final setting a strong pace and rhythm to keep up with the Canadian boat who took an early lead. Placed second after the first 500-metres and only 0.66 seconds off the pace, the Australians fought hard to hold their position, but the opposition were too strong and after fading in the second half of the race, the Australians finished fifth overall. The result equalled the best ever placing by an Australian Women's Eight at an Olympic Games.