Adam Kreek

Last updated
Adam Kreek
Adam Kreek in 2019 (cropped).jpg
Kreek in 2019
Personal information
Born (1980-12-02) December 2, 1980 (age 43)
London, Ontario, Canada
Height1.93 m (6 ft 4 in)
Weight91 kg (200 lb)
Medal record
Men's rowing
Representing Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg  Canada
Olympic Games
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg 2008 Beijing Eight
World Rowing Championships
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg 2002 Seville Eight
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg 2003 Milan Eight
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg 2007 Munich Eight
World Rowing Cup
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg 2003 Lucerne Eight
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg 2004 Munich Eight
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg 2004 Lucerne Eight
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg 2007 Linz Eight
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg 2007 Lucerne Eight
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg 2008 Lucerne Eight
Bronze medal icon (B initial).svg 2002 Lucerne Eight
Henley Royal Regatta
Grand Challenge Cup
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg 2002 Eight
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg 2003 Eight
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg 2007 Eight

Adam Kreek (born 2 December 1980) is an author, executive business coach and Canadian rower. [1] He is a member of the BC Sports Hall of Fame [2] and the Ontario Sports Hall of Fame. [3]

Contents

After his athletic career, Kreek's work has focused upon executive leadership and performance, and in 2019 he published his first book The Responsibility Ethic: 12 Strategies Exceptional People Use to Do the Work and Make Success Happen. [4] As Adam Kreek says, “The grit that’s required for success in athletics is the same grit that’s required for success in business.” [5] After publishing, this book became a bestseller and appeared regularly on British Columbia's business book bestseller list. [6]

Adam Kreek is a champion for men's health where he works to promote the adoption of healthy behaviour changes in working aged individuals. [7]

Early life

Born in London, Ontario, he was a student at the University of Victoria where he met his wife Rebecca. After the Athens Olympics, he moved to Stanford University to complete a degree in Geotechnical Engineering and Hydrology and continue his rowing career there under Coach Craig Amerkhanian. In 2005 Kreek took the summer off to get married and spend time with his wife. Kreek coached at Stanford Rowing Center in 2006 and 2007 for the Junior Crew.

Athletic career

He won the gold medal at the 2002, 2003 and 2007 world championships for Canada's men's eight team in Seville, Spain, Milan, Italy and Munich, Germany respectively. At the 2004 Summer Olympics, Kreek competed with the Canadian men's eight, who were widely expected to win a medal but ultimately finished in fifth place. [8]

He won a gold medal at the 2008 Summer Olympics in the men's eights with Andrew Byrnes, Kyle Hamilton, Malcolm Howard, Kevin Light, Ben Rutledge, Dominic Seiterle, Jake Wetzel and cox Brian Price. [9] Kreek's singing of O Canada at the medal ceremony was cited as an inspiration by Simon Whitfield, who won a silver medal in the triathlon. Whitfield wrote "Sing like Adam Kreek" on the handlebars of his bicycle and repeated "Sing like Kreek" to himself near the end of the race. [10]

On 23 January 2013, Kreek set off with three other rowers, Markus Pukonen, Jordan Hanssen and Pat Fleming to attempt the first-ever row from mainland Africa to North America, recording it for classroom lessons in schools across the United States and Canada. On 6 April 2013, 73 days into the 6,700-kilometre transatlantic rowing expedition, the boat capsized in the Bermuda Triangle. The crew called for help through a personal locator beacon attached to a life-jacket and were successfully located and rescued. The expedition was sponsored by the Canadian Wildlife Federation and Ocean Adventure, Rowing and Education (OAR Northwest). A computer program developed at the University of Victoria monitored the crew's activities and ensured they followed a strict schedule that maximized their energy and mental sharpness. There was also scientific equipment on board to monitor the ocean conditions and marine life. [11]

Athletic heritage

His grandfather Aleksander Kreek was an Estonian shot putter and the 1938 European champion in the event before he emigrated to Canada in the 1950s. [12]

Related Research Articles

Jacob Wetzel is a Canadian rower. He has represented both Canada and the United States at the World Championships and the Olympics. He was born in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada.

Kevin Richard Light is a Canadian rower.

Ben Rutledge was a Canadian Olympic rower and is currently a Mortgage Broker.

Brian Price has been the Canadian coxswain of the men's eight since 2001. He was born in Belleville, Ontario. Price began rowing on the National Team in 1998 after graduating from Seneca College with a Civil Engineering Technology diploma. The first national team crew that he made was the 1998 development lightweight eight. He made the move to the heavyweight men's team in 1999 and competed at the Pan Am Games in Winnipeg.

The 1984 men's eight rowing team was a Canadian rowing team that won a gold medal in the 1984 Summer Olympic Games.

Kyle Hamilton is a Canadian rower from Richmond, British Columbia. He won the gold medal at the 2002, 2003 and 2007 world championships for Canada's men's eight team in Milan, Italy and Seville, Spain and Munich.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Canada at the Summer Olympics</span> Sporting event delegation

Canada has competed at 28 Summer Olympic Games, missing only the inaugural 1896 Summer Olympics and the boycotted 1980 Summer Olympics. This count includes the 1906 Olympic Games, deemed unofficial 43 years after they were held. The nation made its debut at the 1900 Summer Olympics. Canada competes under the IOC country code CAN.

Dean Crawford was a Canadian rower and sports administrator. He began rowing in 1978 and won a gold medal at the 1984 Summer Olympics in the men's rowing eights event. He was also involved with sports as an administrator serving as the president of SwimBC, Swimming Canada, and Pacific Coast Swimming.

Derek Nesbitt-Porter is a gold medal-winning Olympic rower from Canada.

Paul Steele is a Canadian international rower, who was a member of the Canadian men's eights team that won the gold medal at the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, California, United States. The rowing team was inducted into the BC Sports Hall of Fame in 1985, and the Canadian Olympic Hall of Fame in 2003.

ՈՍԱ is a Canadian rower born in Montreal, Quebec. He is a gold medallist at the 2008 Summer Olympics and World Rowing Championships as a member of the 8+. He also won three gold medals at the 2007 World Rowing Cup regattas and gold at the 2007 Henley Royal Regatta. Prior to this, he was the 2006 Canadian National Rowing Gold medallist in the single scull and finished 13th at the 2000 Summer Olympics in the double sculls.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Canada at the 2008 Summer Olympics</span> Sporting event delegation

Canada, represented by the Canadian Olympic Committee (COC), competed at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, China, from August 8 to 24, 2008. Canadian athletes had competed in every Summer Olympic Games since 1900 with the exception of 1980, which were boycotted in protest of the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. Canada sent 332 athletes in 25 sports, the seventh largest team at the games and Canada's largest since 1988. Canada did not send a team in handball, volleyball or basketball. Kayaker and 2004 Summer Olympics gold medalist Adam van Koeverden was the flag bearer at the opening ceremonies; Karen Cockburn bore the flag at the closing.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lorne Loomer</span> Canadian rower

Lorne Kenneth Loomer was a Canadian competition rower and Olympic champion.

Donald John Arnold was a Canadian competition rower and Olympic champion. He was born in Kelowna, British Columbia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">David Calder (rower)</span> Canadian rower (born 1978)

David C D Calder is a Canadian rower. A four-time Olympian, he is a 2008 Olympics silver medallist in the men's coxless pair rowing event along with Scott Frandsen.

James Andrew Byrnes is a Canadian rower and Olympic gold medallist. He was born in Toronto, Ontario and raised in Ithaca, New York. Byrnes is a 2005 graduate of Bates College in Maine, where he crewed for the Bates Rowing Team and earned a master's degree in engineering from the University of Pennsylvania in 2006.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Malcolm Howard (rower)</span> Canadian rower (b. 1983)

Malcolm Howard is a Canadian rower. He was born in Victoria, British Columbia and graduated from Brentwood College School in 2001. While at Brentwood he joined Canada's junior national team.

Archibald MacKinnon is a Canadian competition rower and Olympic champion.

Gabriel "Gabe" Bergen is a Canadian rower. Bergen won a silver medal as part of the men's eights for Canada at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London. He has also won one medal of every colour at the World Championships including being champion in the coxed pair in 2008 and a silver and a bronze in the eights in 2009 and 2011 respectively.

Jennifer Walinga is a retired rower who competed between the 1980s to 1990s. As a member of the national rowing team for Canada, Walinga did not medal at the 1985 World Rowing Championships. In coxed four events, Walinga won gold at the 1986 Commonwealth Games and the 1986 World Rowing Championships. Years later, she had a seventh place finish in coxed four at the 1988 Summer Olympics.

References

  1. Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Adam Kreek". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 2012-11-06. Retrieved 2020-05-21.
  2. "2008 Canadian Olympic Eights". BC Sports Hall of Fame. Retrieved 2020-01-20.
  3. "Adam Kreek | The London Sports Hall of Fame". londonsportshalloffame.com. Retrieved 2020-01-20.
  4. . Times Colonist. Retrieved on 2020-01-20.
  5. . Douglas Magazine. Retrieved on 2020-01-20.
  6. . BC Business Magazine. Retrieved on 2020-01-20.
  7. "Go for Gold with Your Health at Work". Canadian Men's Health Week. Retrieved 2020-01-20.
  8. Holton, Kate (2008-08-17). "Men's eight trained through snow and sleet for gold". Vernon Morning Star. Archived from the original on July 23, 2011. Retrieved 2008-08-21.
  9. The Canadian Press (2008-08-18). "Gold in Men's Eight, Bronze in Women's Double, Men's Four". TSN.ca. Archived from the original on 2011-05-22. Retrieved 2008-08-18.
  10. Arthur, Bruce (2008-08-19). "Whitfield's silver as good as gold". National Post. Retrieved 2008-08-21.
  11. NBC Dateline, capsize
  12. Aleksander Kreek. Eesti Spordi Biograffiline Leksikon. Retrieved on 2014-10-19.