Athlete at the centre of Australia’s biggest Olympics scandal sends two very telling messages after being nicknamed ‘Lay Down Sally’ for giving up during race
- Sally Robbins retired from rowing in the final of the women’s eight at the 2004 Olympic Games
- At the time she was called ‘Lay Down Sally’ after she abandoned her teammates
- Now, 20 years later, Robbins has made two striking statements
She is the athlete who angered Australia, who was called ‘Lay Down Sally’ by the angry crowd when she retired from rowing during the 2004 Olympic rowing final.
And now, twenty years later, Sally Robbins has taken to social media to declare that she has finally made peace with her past, after becoming a household name for all the wrong reasons.
Robbins, now 42, became an overnight sporting villain when she retired from rowing in the women’s round of 16 finals at the Athens Olympics, leaving Australia without a medal chance.
Robbins claimed at the time that she stopped rowing due to exhaustion 600 meters from the finish.
“Suddenly I got tired and couldn’t move,” she said. “It’s a paralyzed feeling, like hitting a wall.”
Many of her teammates were furious, as the Aussies were widely considered gold medal contenders, but ultimately finished far below due to her slump.
Twenty years later, Robbins has fully moved on from the story, as evidenced by two illuminating social media posts in the run-up to the Paris Olympics.
“I am at peace with my past and looking forward to my future,” Robbins posted on Instagram last month.
Sally Robbins was criticized as ‘Lay Down Sally’ when she retired from rowing during the women’s eight final at the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens
Robbins (pictured, right, at the 2004 Athens Olympics) has now declared on social media that she is at peace with her infamous sporting past
Robbins during an emotional interview with Seven Network after the incident
She also posted ‘Happy Olympic Day’ on June 23in which the Perth-based holistic health coach and yoga teacher further elaborated on her past as an Olympian.
The message to Australian athletes ended with: ‘once an Olympian, always an Olympian.’
“Getting this message on my phone every year always brings tears to my eyes,” Robbins wrote.
“I am so proud to be an Olympian and I wish our next Olympians in Paris all the best.
‘We all stand behind you and know how much hard work you have put in to get to this point. I am so grateful for the support I have received from near and far.
“Let’s support our athletes this year… send them a message. They will receive it and it will make a big difference.”
Robbins (far right) during a press conference in the wake of the national scandal
The former female eight-rower is now a holistic health coach and yoga teacher in Perth (pictured in her studio)
Last month, Robbins declared on Instagram that she was “at peace with her past and excited about her future” (pictured)
Robbins also shared her reaction to a message she received as a former Olympian ahead of the Paris Games this month
Robbins, who now goes by Sally Cameron after taking her husband’s surname, previously ran a yoga studio just northeast of Brisbane’s city centre.
The couple also have a daughter, Aria.
After failing to qualify for rowing at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, Robbins switched sports and tried her luck in competitive cycling.
She competed in the National Women’s Road Series in Western Australia and for the Australian Institute of Sport as a domestique and time trialist before deciding to retire from competitive sport altogether.
The Olympic Games in Paris will take place from July 26 to August 11.