Olympic medallist Brooke ‘OUR OARSOME ROMANCE'

The rower reveals her wedding plans and a new passion project

- Annemarie Quill

Winning an Olympic silver medal, planning a wedding, studying for a master’s degree and writing a book – it’s fair to say rower Brooke Donoghue is having a big year both on and off the water!

But with the endurance and discipline the Waikato athlete has shown since committing to the sport at age 16, Brooke is making it look easy, just as she did in Tokyo back in July, when she raced to second place in the women’s double sculls event along with teammate Hannah Osborne.

It was the 26-year-old’s first Games and although she’s had several world championship wins, her dream was always an Olympic medal.

“I’m genuinely stoked,” Brooke grins. “I worked so hard for 11 years to get on that podium. I’m still so happy and emotional.”

And the emotions continue to flow when she talks about her fiancé, Jeff Francis, 29, who she met on the rowing circuit. They’ve been together for eight years and own a house in Cambridge. Jeff retired from rowing in 2014 and now works in his family’s aluminium joinery business in Rotorua.

When Woman’s Day catches up with the couple on a romantic trip to Queenstown, Brooke tells us, “We’d planned to take a break together after the Olympics and we were really lucky it was able to happen given all the travel restrictions that came about after we got home from the Games.”

The couple got engaged on January 4, 2020, with their wedding set for the first few days of next year. Jeff’s proposal came as a complete surprise to Brooke, she admits.

“That morning, Jeff went out to my parents’ farm in Waiterimu. I didn’t know at the time, but he was getting permission from my parents, which was so sweet.”