Giorgia Patten is a rower and Olympian who was awarded a Scholarship within the 2019 Sport Australia Hall of Fame Scholarship and Mentoring Program, and has been paired with Rechelle Hawkes AM as her Mentor.
Giorgia was born in Perth in 1998 and developed an interest in rowing as a secondary student at Perth College. She chose to commit to the sport more seriously and soon joined the Western Australia Rowing Club, where her talent was identified and nurtured.
Strong junior results attracted attention from the Western Australia Institute of Sport, and after training at their high-performance centre, Giorgia won gold in the Women’s Pair at the U21 Trans-Tasman competition in 2017.
After finishing high school, Giorgia made an even stronger commitment when she relocated to Sydney to train at the National Training Centre under coaches John Keogh, Tom Westgarth and Ellen Randell, and prepared for her international debut at the 2018 World Rowing Cup III, where she made the final in the Women’s Pair. That same year she also made the final of the Women’s Pair at the World Rowing U23 Championships, before winning a silver medal in the Women’s Double Scull at the same event a year later.
Giorgia’s upward trajectory continued in the intervening years, and she finished 5th in the Women’s 8 at the Tokyo Olympic Games in 2021.
While training and competing at an elite level for many years, Giorgia has also been heavily involved in volunteering and coaching, as well as studying for a Bachelor of Physiotherapy at Curtin University.
Mentor Rechelle Hawkes AM said: “Giorgia is a 20-year-old on a mission. She is a rising star in the sport of rowing and whilst committing to her busy rowing schedule, she also finds the time to study physiotherapy and volunteer at her local rowing club. With this drive and commitment, she is already displaying at such a young age, I can’t wait to work with Giorgia, as she displays the type of qualities which are the building blocks to future success and I am very excited about her future prospects.”
Honours & Achievements
- 2017: U21 Trans-Tasman Competition, Women’s pair – winner
- 2018: World Rowing Cup III, Women’s pair – sixth place
- 2018: World Rowing Under 23 Championships, Women’s pair – fifth place
- 2019: World Rowing Under 23 Championships, Women’s double scull – silver medal
- 2019: WAIS Junior Athlete of the Year – nomination
- 2021: Tokyo Olympic Games – W8, 5th
