Micheen Thornycroft

In November, Thornycroft qualified for the 2012 London Olympic Games by finishing first in the women's single sculls at the Africa Continental Qualification Regatta held in Alexandria, Egypt. Male counterpart, James Fraser-Mackenzie, also qualified for the Olympics after the finishing second in the Final B race at the same regatta.[2][7]

In the buildup to the Olympic Games, Thornycroft went on to compete in the Paulo D'Alorja regatta held in Italy, she attained sixth place in Final A race. At the World Rowing Cup II, in Lucerne, Switzerland, (from the 25th-27 May) Thornycroft finished tenth overall.[6] She participated in the 2012 Samsung World Rowing Cup III, held in Munich, Germany (from the 15–17 June) and came first in the Final C race (a non-medal race) and thirteenth overall.[6] At the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, Great Britain, Thornycroft managed to attain fourteenth place overall as she finished second in the Final C race.

In 2013, Thornycroft raced at the World Rowing Cup in Sydney and attained first place in the Final B race (a non-medal race). She had training camps in Italy and Germany before participation at the 2013 World Rowing Championships in Chungju, South Korea where she finished fourth in the Final B race. Micheen won gold at the African Rowing Championships in the single sculls in Tunisia.[10]

In April, Thornycroft came out sixth at the Paulo D'Alorja regatta held in Italy.[11] In June, at the World Rowing Cup II in Aiguebelette, France, Micheen finished second in the Final C race. At the 2014 World Rowing Championships held in Amsterdam, Netherlands, Thornycroft achieved a second-place finish in the Final D race and nineteenth overall. She was one of ten Zimbabwean athletes to receive an Olympic Solidarity scholarship to aid preparations for the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.[12][13] Micheen came first in the women's single sculls event at the 10th African Rowing Championships (which ran from 16–18 October) held at the Boukerdane Dam in Sidi Amar, Tipaza, a town in northern Algeria.[14][15]

In a bid to intensify her preparations for the qualifying phase to compete in the 2016 Summer Olympics hosted by Rio de Janeiro in Brazil, Thornycroft moved to Pretoria, the South African capital, so as to train at the High Performance Centre (HPC), at the University of Pretoria, a renowned sport science and training facility.[16] Thornycroft trained under the guidance and coaching of Roger Barrow, South African National Rowing coach credited with coaching the South African M4x (Men's lightweight coxless four) crew that won gold at the 2012 London Olympic Games.[17][18] Under Barrow's tutelage, Thornycroft set her personal best three times (at the SA Rowing Championships, World Rowing Cup III and the 2015 World Rowing Championships). She won gold at the women's single sculls at the SA Rowing Championships and attained Final B race finishes at the World Rowing Cup III in Lucerne, Switzerland and the World Rowing Championships in Aiguebelette, France where she was fifth and sixth respectively. Micheen came first in the women's single sculls event at the 2015 African Continental Qualification Regatta in Tunis, Tunisia and as a result, qualified for the 2016 Olympics.[18][19]

In February, Thornycroft participated in the women's single sculls event at the Buffalo Regatta in East London, Eastern Cape, South Africa, where she finished first.[20]