Sarah Anne Tait (née Outhwaite; 23 January 1983 – 3 March 2016) was an Australian world champion, three-time Olympian and Olympic medal winning rower. She was the first mother to represent Australia in rowing at an Olympic level, having returned to international competition following the birth of her daughter.

Tait was born in Perth, Western Australia, one of four children of Simon and Barbara Outhwaite. She was educated at St Hilda's Anglican School for Girls in Perth. She began rowing in 1997, at the age of 14. Tait's first rowing success was in 2000, winning a silver medal in the Junior Women’s Four at the World Rowing Junior Championships in Zagreb, Croatia.

Career

Tait competed at the Summer Olympics three times, in the women's eights at the 2004 and 2008 games and in the women's coxless pairs at the 2012 Olympic Games in London, where she won a silver medal with Kate Hornsey. Tait won gold in the women's eights at the 2005 World Rowing Championships in Gifu, along with a silver in the coxless pairs (with Natalie Bale). She also secured a bronze in the coxless pairs at the 2011 World Rowing Championships in Lake Bled.

Tait captained the Australian women's rowing team at the 2008 and 2012 Olympic Games, and the 2010 and 2011 World Rowing Championships.

Three months after the 2008 Olympics, Tait became pregnant with her first child. As she was determined to compete in the 2012 Olympics, she continued to train up until the last three weeks of pregnancy, and returned to her training schedule five months after giving birth. At around this time, Rowing Australia changed their policy on family visits to athletes, enabling children to visit their parents while training and competing; Tait was credited with inspiring this change.

Tait announced her retirement from competitive rowing on 26 February 2014, as she had been diagnosed with cervical cancer after the birth of her second child eleven months earlier. Although she had initially returned to rowing after undergoing chemotherapy and radiation treatment, she was later advised to retire from the sport to undergo further treatment.

Family

She was married to national rowing coach Bill Tait and was a second cousin of rower David Crawshay. Her father, Simon Outhwaite, was an Australian rules footballer for South Fremantle Football Club.

Death

Tait died on 3 March 2016, aged 33, in Melbourne, Victoria. She had been diagnosed with cervical cancer in 2013.