We are delighted that Charlotte has joined our BRIT Ambassador family and is championing the BRIT Challenge to support and improve young adult and student mental health and fitness throughout the UK. Charlotte has represented Great Britain since 2014 and has competed in the Double Sculls, Quadruple Sculls and Women’s Eight. She is a double U23 World Champion and a 2021 European Championship medallist. In 2021, Charlotte competed at the 2020 Olympic Games in the Quadruple Sculls.
"As a former student at Royal Holloway, University of London, and having trained and competed with young elite athletes for the past six years, I am passionate about supporting and improving young adult mental health and fitness. Aside from my own lived experience over the past few years, I have also become increasingly aware of the mental health challenges experienced by a large number of students and young adults and passionately believe we must be more active in supporting students in order to avoid them facing long-term mental health difficulties. This is why the British Inspiration Trust (BRIT) Vision strongly resonates with me both personally and professionally.
I am delighted that BRIT are delivering the annual BRIT Challenge as a feelgood February fundraiser for every university, college, specialist college and Students’ Union to enter teams and encourage student and staff participation. It’s great that the BRIT Challenge has been designed to be an inclusive event and enables students and staff of all abilities to participate and add their miles to their team’s 2,022 mile target by hand-cycling, cycling, wheelchair pushing, swimming, walking, jogging, running, rowing or paddling (canoeing, kayaking or paddle-boarding). I really hope students throughout the UK will add distance to their team targets by adaptive rowing, indoor rowing and engaging with their local rowing clubs and getting out on the water.
I am thrilled to be part of the BRIT Ambassador family to promote the BRIT Challenge, destigmatise mental health and champion equality, diversity and inclusion. I look forward to encouraging my fellow elite British Rowing athletes to join the BRIT Ambassador family and support a university or college of their choice in order to encourage and inspire students and staff to take on the BRIT Challenge throughout the UK.
I hope to support and encourage students and staff at Royal Holloway, University of London and Hartpury University and Hartpury College as they take on their BRIT Challenge and I’m excited to add miles to their team targets in the hope of encouraging students and staff to take part”.
Charlotte Hodgkins-Byrne OLY Double World U23 Champion and European Championship medallist
Charlotte learnt to row at Hartpury College and Gloucester Rowing Club. She graduated from Royal Holloway, University of London, in 2019 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in English and is intending to convert to law in 2021/2. In 2014, Charlotte was selected to row in the Women’s Quadruple Sculls at the World Rowing Junior Championships where she won bronze. Charlotte won silver at the 2016 U23 World Rowing Championships in the Women’s Eight. In 2017, Charlotte won gold at the U23 World Rowing Championships in the Women’s Quadruple Sculls and also came sixth in the Women’s Eight. A year later, at the 2018 U23 World Rowing Championships, Charlotte won gold in the Double Sculls with Anna Thornton. In Charlotte’s senior debut at the 2018 World Rowing Championships, she came fourth in the Double Sculls with Anna. In 2019, Charlotte qualified for the 2020 Olympic Games at the World Rowing Championships in the Quadruple Sculls with her older sister Mathilda and fellow BRIT Ambassadors Melissa Wilson and Jess Leyden. Charlotte represented Great Britain at the Olympic Games in Tokyo in 2021. In 2021, Charlotte won silver in the Quadruple Sculls at the European Championships. You can follow Charlotte on Instagram.
Comments