[4] At the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, Brownsdon reached the final of the 200-metre breaststroke, finishing seventh.

She missed out on individual medals for England at the 1986 Commonwealth Games, finishing fourth in the 100-metre breaststroke and fifth in the 200-metre.

She did though, win a gold medal in the 4x100-metre medley relay, along with Caroline Cooper, Nicola Fibbens and Simone Hindmarsh.

[7] In 1989, she reached both breaststroke finals at the European Championships for the third consecutive time, finishing eighth in both.

In 2003, she moved to Brisbane, Australia, where her eldest son, Buster Sykes, became a national junior champion in the 200-metre breaststroke.