Sandra (Sandi) Kirby OC is a Canadian sociologist and former Olympic athlete.[1] A member of the Canadian women's rowing team at the 1976 Summer Olympics, she competed in the women's quad sculls, with her team finishing ninth.
Sandi Kirby | |
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Born | 1949 (age 74–75) |
Nationality | Canadian |
Alma mater | |
Occupation(s) | Rower and Sociologist |
Sports career | |
Sport | rowing |
Writing career | |
Subject | gender in sport, research methods |
Notable works |
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After competing at the Olympics, she lobbied for a number of years to have the International Olympic Committee drop its requirement that all female athletes automatically had to undergo chromosomal testing to ensure that they were actually female,[1] a rule which was not dropped until the 2000 Summer Olympics.[1]
Kirby completed a bachelor's degree in physical education at the University of British Columbia in 1971 and B.Ed. degree at the same institution in 1972. She later obtained a master's degree at McGill University in 1980, and a doctorate from the University of Alberta in 1986. She is a professor Emerita[2] of sociology at the University of Winnipeg, specializing in study of women in sports.[3] She came out as lesbian after joining the university.[4] She is active in the development of safe sport for athletes as a founding board member of Safe Sport International, and as a speaker on sexual harassment and abuse in sport.
In 2018, Kirby was awarded the Order of Sport, marking her induction into Canada's Sports Hall of Fame.[5]
Books by Sandra Kirby include: