Shelley Pearson, Class of 2009

Shelley Pearson ’09 has already earned a place in the Peddie Sports Hall of Fame with her teammates from the legendary 2007, 2008 and 2009 Girls Varsity Fours. These crews achieved an undefeated three-year streak in dual competitions, back-to-back Stotesbury Cup victories, two Youth National Championships, and set a course record at the Henley Women’s Regatta in England.

Though rowing is a team sport, Pearson’s individual accomplishments are equally impressive. She earned a seat on the U.S. Junior Women’s National Team Four as a junior, finishing sixth at the 2008 World Rowing Junior Championships. In 2009, she became a World Champion in the U.S. Junior Women’s Eight. Recruited by Harvard, she rowed in the Radcliffe Varsity Eight and later earned an MBA from Oxford, where she won The Women’s Boat Race in 2015. Pearson represented Bermuda in the 2016 Rio Olympics, finishing 16th in the women’s single (1X) and becoming the first Bermudian woman to compete in rowing at the Olympics. “I tried to put Bermuda on the rowing map,” she said.

Pearson credits Peddie for laying the foundation for her success, where she found a supportive environment that nurtured her ambitions. She also holds the school record as part of the 2007 indoor track 4×800-meter relay team.