Personal information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Full name | Alexander John Gregory | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Nationality | British | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Born | Cheltenham, England | 11 March 1984|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Height | 1.98 m (6 ft 6 in) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Weight | 97 kg (214 lb) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
|
Alexander John Gregory, MBE (born 11 March 1984) is an English former representative rower. He is a six-time world champion and a two-time Olympic gold medallist at 2012 and 2016 in the Coxless four. [1]
Alex Gregory was educated at the Richard Pate School in Cheltenham, then Bredon Hill Middle School, a comprehensive school in Ashton under Hill, Worcestershire, followed by Prince Henry's High School in Evesham. He later attended the University of Reading in Berkshire from which he graduated in 2006.
Born in Cheltenham, Gregory gained his first GB vest in 2004 at the World Rowing U23 Championships in Poland, finishing 11th in the quad. [2] At the World U23 Championships in 2005 he was 4th in the double and 8th in the single the following year. He has been a full member of the men's squad since his graduation from university. [2] Gregory is also a member of the Leander Club, of which he was Captain. [2]
He was selected for the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games as a reserve, having narrowly missed out on qualifying the men's quad for the Games. [2]
Gregory won the pair at the GB Rowing Senior Trials in his first season in 'sweep'. He established his place in the new GB four during the 2009 World Cup Series winning two golds and a bronze to take the overall 2009 title. He was the 'rookie' in the boat, racing with three experienced Olympians, all medallists from Beijing.
At the 2009 World Rowing Championships the four's main rivals were the Australian silver medal four from Beijing who had stayed together to avenge the GB victory at the Olympics. GB won the gold medal, almost two seconds ahead of Australia with Slovenia in third. [2]
At the 2011 World Rowing Championships in Bled, Slovenia, Gregory raced in the men's four with crewmates Matt Langridge, Richard Egington and Tom James, winning a gold medal ahead of Greece in second and Australia in third. [2]
At the 2012 GB Rowing Team Senior Trials held in March at Eton Dorney, Gregory and crew mate Alex Partridge came second in the men's pair. [2]
Pete Reed, Tom James and Andrew Triggs Hodge, who won gold in the four in Beijing, were all selected along with Gregory for the Olympic season. The four went on to win the 2012 London Olympic Games gold medal in the Coxless four at Eton Dorney. [3]
He competed at the 2013 World Rowing Championships in Chungju, where he won a gold medal as part of the eight [4] and the following year he competed at the 2014 World Rowing Championships in Bosbaan, Amsterdam, where he won a gold medal as part of the coxless four with Moe Sbihi, George Nash and Andrew Triggs Hodge. [5] One year later he was part of the British team that topped the medal table at the 2015 World Rowing Championships at Lac d'Aiguebelette in France, where he won a gold medal as part of the eight with Matt Gotrel, Constantine Louloudis, Pete Reed, Paul Bennett, Moe Sbihi, George Nash, Will Satch and Phelan Hill. [6]
In August 2012, to celebrate his gold medal at London 2012, post boxes were painted gold in his home town of Cheltenham. [7]
Gregory was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the 2013 New Year Honours for services to rowing. [8] [9]
On 20 November 2015, Gregory was named as "Olympic Athlete of the Year" at the GB Rowing Teams awards. [10]
Jürgen Heinz Lothar Grobler OBE is a German rowing coach, formerly the Olympic team coach of East Germany and later of Great Britain. He coached crews to medals at every Olympics from 1972 to 2016, with the exception of the 1984 Games, which were boycotted by Eastern Bloc countries.
Stephen David Williams is an English rower and double Olympic champion. In April and May 2011, Williams walked to the North Pole and achieved the summit of Mount Everest.
Alexander Matthew Partridge is a British rower, and an Olympic silver and bronze medallist.
Peter K. Reed OBE is a retired British Olympic rower. Reed is a three-times Olympic gold medallist – earning gold in the Men's coxless four at the 2008 and 2012 Olympics, and then a gold medal in the Men's eight at the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro. He has won five gold medals and three silver medals at the World Championships.
Gregory Mark Pascoe Searle is a British Olympic rower educated at Hampton School and London South Bank University.
Andrew Triggs Hodge is a British former rower - a three time Olympic champion and four time world champion. In the British coxless four in 2012 he set a world's best time which still stood as of 2023.
Christopher Donald Liwski is a Canadian American rower, a six-time U.S. National Team member, a double world championship medal winner, and a two-time member of the United States Olympic Rowing Team.
Thomas James MBE is a British rower, twice Olympic champion and victorious Cambridge Blue. In a British coxless four in 2012 he set a world's best time which still stood as of 2021.
Matthew Langridge is a British rower. At the 2012 Summer Olympics in London he was part of the British crew that won the bronze medal in the men's eight. He was the 2015 European Champion in the men's pair, along with James Foad. At the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro he was part of the British crew that won the gold medal in the men's eight.
Anna Rose Watkins MBE PhD is a British rower.
Nathaniel “Noddy” Reilly-O'Donnell is a British rower educated at St Leonard's School, Durham and University College London.
Thomas Matthew Ransley is a retired British rower. At the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro he was part of the British crew that won the gold medal in the eight, was twice a World Champion and in 2015 was the European Champion in the men's coxless four.
James Foad is an English rower. At the 2012 Summer Olympics in London he was part of the British crew that won the bronze medal in the men's eight. He was the 2015 European Champion in the men's pair, along with Matt Langridge.
Mohamed Karim Sbihi is a British rower. He is a three-time Olympian and Olympic medal winner. He won a gold medal in the coxless four at 2016 Rio Olympics, and at the 2012 London Olympics he was in the British crew that won the bronze medal in the men's eight. He returned to the eight for the 2020 Tokyo games, again winning bronze.
George Christopher Nash is a British rower. He is dual Olympian, dual Olympic medal winner and three time world champion.
William Spencer Satch is a British rower and Olympic gold medallist.
Constantine Michael Louloudis is a Greek-British rower. He is an Olympic champion, two time world champion and four time Boat Race winner.
Phelan Hill is a British rowing coxswain. He is a three-time world champion and an Olympic gold medallist. He competed in the Men's eight event at the 2012 Summer Olympics, winning a bronze medal. In 2016, he competed in the Men's eight event at the 2016 Summer Olympics, winning the gold medal.
Thomas Gibson is an Australian lightweight rower. He is a twelve-time Australian national champion, a world champion and a dual Olympian.
Thomas Ford is a British national representative rower. He is a two-time world champion and an Olympic bronze medallist.