Carmen's Story
Born in Adelaide in 1975, Carmen Wearne, who competed internationally as Carmen Klomp, emerged from South Australian rowing to represent Australia at the Atlanta 1996 Olympic Games. Wearne was 21 when she took her place in the women’s eight, the blue-riband crew event in women’s rowing, and her selection came after strong performances that had already marked her as one of the country’s leading young sweep rowers.
Australia finished fifth in the women’s eight in Atlanta after progressing through the repechage to the A final. Beyond the Olympics, Wearne’s wider career included Commonwealth Games gold and a world championship bronze in 1994, results that underlined her class in an era of strong Australian women’s rowing. Her Olympic appearance remains the centrepiece of a career built on crew work, timing and power.
