West Midlands Navy Olympian Makes Waves at London Boat Show

Olympic yachtswoman Penny Clark wowed visitors to the prestigious London Boat Show last week when she revealed she will be going for gold at the London Olympics… thanks to her employer, the Royal Navy.

Lieutenant Commander Penny finished a creditable 10th in the Laser Radial class at the Beijing Olympics last year – an event in which Britain landed four sailing gold medals – and has set her sights on the top award when the Games come to London in 2012, this time in the 470 class.

She will shortly be heading off to Austria to join other elite British athletes for an intensive physical training and assessment week in the mountains, but first was pleased to attend the ExCel centre in London’s docklands for the Boat Show, where she helped launch the Royal Navy’s new recruitment stand.

Penny, 32, gave a very informative and enjoyable lecture from the new 40-foot interactive stand to an enthusiastic audience on how her Royal Navy training had been a major factor in her ability to achieve sporting success at the highest level. 

Keen to ensure she keeps up to speed as a Marine Engineering Officer while away training, Penny took the opportunity to re-familiarise herself with the engineering spaces on board Royal Navy Type 23 frigate HMS Westminster, docked alongside for the duration of the Boat Show. 

Just before leaving for Austria, Penny said: “The support from the Royal Navy has been amazing. My military training has given me the confidence and belief that I can achieve my goal, which is to win Olympic gold in London.”

Penny grew up in Wombourne near Birmingham, before joining the Royal Navy in 1993 as a University Cadet Entry Officer. After completing her basic training, she went to Southampton University to study for a BEng in Mechanical Engineering before joining HMS Sultan to complete her Engineer Officer Training. 
 
Her first appointment was as the Deputy Marine Engineer Officer of HMS Manchester in which she deployed to the West Indies before entering refit. Other appointments have included Engineer Officer Training Officer, Future Technologies Officer and a return to University to gain an MSc in Marine Engineering.