Former Olympian

Elizabeth Ann Blencowe was born in Queensland, Australia in 1961 to Sidney Louis and Patricia Blencowe. Elizabeth represented Australian several times in canoeing world championships and competed at the Los Angeles Olympics in 1984 where she was a finalist in the Ladies Kayak 500m singles. She has also represented New Zealand in the World Championships.

Elisabeth married New Zealand Olympian, Alan Thompson a sprint canoer who competed in Moscow 1980, Los Angeles 1984 and Seoul in 1988. He won two gold medals at Los Angeles in 1984, in the K-1 1000 m and K-4 1000 m events.

Thompson became a coach, selector and manager for New Zealand canoeing teams and eventually became president of the New Zealand Canoeing Federation.

Elizabeth and Alan live in New Zealand and have two children. Elizabeth is a retired police officer.

David Blencowe
Victoria, Australia