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Shelley Pearson ‘13

Women's Heavyweight Crew: Single Sculls, Bermuda

Hailing from Pembroke, Bermuda, Pearson will represent her home country in Rio, rowing in a women’s single scull during the Olympics.

At Harvard, Pearson cemented made three appearances on the varsity eight and four with the second varsity eight during her freshman year, culminating in her contribution to the varsity eight win in the petite final at the EAWRC Sprints at the end of the 2010 season.

Pearson, however, got her start on the international rowing stage before she began to compete for the Crimson. In 2008 and 2009 Pearson competed in the Junior Worlds for the United States, rowing in the junior women’s four.

Focusing on NCAA rowing throughout her time at Harvard, Pearson cemented her place in the varsity eight during her sophomore year and helped the varsity eight win the third-level final at the NCAA Championships with a time of 6:34.45 while sitting in both the seven and five spot.

Her junior campaign she netted the eight spot in the varsity eight and helped the boat secure a Beanpot title in a time of 6:25.9 as well as a third-place finish at the lass of 1975 Cup and an O’Leary Cup championship. The 2012 season also marked Radcliffe’s first ever Ivy League Championship Regatta, and Pearson rowed with the varsity eight which won the varsity eight grand final.

After graduating with a concentration in Psychology, Pearson has pursued both a Masters of Science and Masters of Business Administration at the University of Oxford. Returning to the rowing competitively on the international stage, Pearson transitioned to rowing for Bermuda in 2016. Her qualification for Rio de Janeiro came off the heels of the World Rowing Cup in Poznan, Poland where Pearson competed in the single scull races, finishing fifth in the first heat with a time of 8:00.880. Her times continued to drop throughout the competition, as she ranked second in her second race at 7:49.130, dropped to fifth in the semifinal and came in third in the final with her best time of the competition, 7:38.690.

With the first round of women’s single scull already in the books in the Olympics, Pearson completed her course in 8:22.150, ranking her third in her heat and 13th overall. Her time was good enough to have her move on to the quarter final round, where she will compete Tuesday.

–Staff writer Ariel Smolik-Valles can be reached at ariel.smolik-valles@thecrimson.com.