"I am following my heart and moving forward," said Cameron. "This is a very difficult decision - I believe in the Olympic values and have lived my life with excellence, respect and friendship at the forefront of everything that I do. With those values as my guide, I knew that I could no longer stay in the double."
Cameron won the 2008 Olympic bronze medal (lightweight women's double) with Melanie Kok before teaming with Lindsay Jennerich to win the 2010 World title. Cameron has been one of Canada's top lightweight women for the last eight years. She was a member of the lightweight quad that won the Worlds in 2005. Last year, injury kept her from the lightweight women's double event at World Championships, which is the only boat for lightweight women in the Olympic programme.
She proved herself to still be one of the top lightweight women rowers in the country during selection this year and was selected to compete in the World Cup race held in Lucerne, Switzerland two weeks ago. However, the chemistry in the double that brought this same combination to the gold medal position at the 2010 World Championships has been lacking in this final build up to the Olympics, and she has decided to leave the training centre.
A native of Shubenacadie, Nova Scotia, Cameron began rowing while attending the University of Calgary in 2000.
"Tracy is an amazing athlete and an inspiration to many who know her," said Peter Cookson, Rowing Canada Aviron High Performance Director. "I wish her all the best in her future pursuits and thank her for all she has done for our sport and her country."
Canada has not yet officially announced its Olympic rowing team, but is expected to do so later this month.
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