| Personal information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Full name | Andrew Dollman Cooper | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Nickname | Coops | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | 23 December 1964 Melbourne, Victoria, Australia | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Years active | 1985–1995 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | Rowing | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Club | Mercantile Rowing Club | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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Andrew Dollman Cooper OAM [1] (born 23 December 1964) is a former Australian Olympic Champion and World Champion rower. He is a national champion, dual Olympian and two-time World Champion who achieved success as a member of Australia's "Oarsome Foursome" in 1991 and 1992.
Cooper's senior rowing was with the Mercantile Rowing Club in Melbourne and he was selected to train at the Australian Institute of Sport from 1986.
Cooper competed at the National Regatta in Mercantile colours in coxless pair and in coxed and coxless four from 1986 to 1988 and in 1990. He won Australian national titles at those Australian Rowing Championships in 1986 in a coxless four; and in 1990 in both the coxed and coxless four with other members of the Oarsome Foursome. [2]
Cooper was selected in Victorian state representative King's Cup crews contesting the men's Interstate Eight-Oared Championship at the Australian Rowing Championships in 1988, 1991, 1992, 1994, 1995. Cooper enjoyed the rare distinction of being victorious in every King's Cup he raced. [3]
Cooper's first national representative selection was to the 1985 Match des Seniors in Banyoles Spain – the equivalent at the time of today's World Rowing U23 Championships. Cooper rowed in the Australian men's eight to a silver medal. [4] That same crew represented Australia in the men's eight selected for the 1985 Trans-Tasman U/23 regatta held on Lake Ruataniwha New Zealand. [5]
Cooper's senior call-up was into the men's eight who competed and took the gold at the 1986 World Rowing Championships in Nottingham, England. This was Australia's first and to date only, World Championship win the men's eight. [6] That same year at the 1986 Commonwealth Games in Edinburgh, in that same crew Cooper won gold in the Australian men's VIII. [7]
At the 1987 World Rowing Championships in Copenhagen, Cooper was in the bow seat of the Australian eight who took fourth place. He was moved to the three seat for the men's eight for the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul who placed fifth. Cooper's teammates on that occasion were James Galloway, Hamish McLachlan, Mike McKay, Mark Doyle, James Tomkins, Ion Popa, Steve Evans, and Dale Caterson (cox). He would go on to enjoy great success rowing with Tomkins and McKay.
In 1991 Cooper was in the Australian coxless four who won gold at the 1991 World Rowing Championships in Vienna along with Nick Green, Mike McKay, and James Tomkins. [8] This was the second iteration of Australia's successful Oarsome Foursome. The same crew repeated this achievement taking gold the following year at the Barcelona 1992 Olympics. [9]
After a break the champion foursome returned to the water at state and national level in 1994 but were not ready for the 1994 World Championships. At the 1995 World Rowing Championships in Tampere Finland, the Oarsome Foursome represented again as a Coxless four seated as they'd been at Vienna and Barcelona. [10] They finished fifth. This was Cooper's last international regatta in Australian colours.
In 1999 he was inducted into the Sport Australia Hall of Fame. [11] In 2010 Cooper was inducted as a member of the Rowing Victoria Hall of Fame.
Drew Cameron Ginn OAM is an Australian five-time world champion rower, a four time Olympian and triple Olympic gold medallist. From 1995 to 1998 he was a member of Australia's prominent world class crew – the coxless four known as the Oarsome Foursome.
James Bruce Tomkins, is an Australian rower, seven-time World Champion and a three-time Olympic gold medalist. He is Australia's most awarded oarsman, having made appearances at six Olympic games ; eleven World Championships ; four Rowing World Cups and eighteen state representative King's Cup appearances – the Australian blue riband men's VIII event,. Tomkins is one of only five Australian athletes and four rowers worldwide to compete at six Olympics. From 1990 to 1998 he was the stroke of Australia's prominent world class crew – the coxless four known as the Oarsome Foursome.
The Mercantile Rowing Club is based in Melbourne, Australia on the Yarra River. It was founded in 1880 and has occupied its current site since 1885. More than 40 Mercantillians have represented Australia at Olympic Games.
The Oarsome Foursome is the nickname for an Australian men's rowing coxless four crew who competed with a clear lineage between 1990 and 2012, winning two Olympic gold medals and one silver medal, two world championships as a coxless four, and additional world championship titles in coxed boats. Members of the Oarsome Foursome when split into pairs placed first and second in the 1998 World Rowing Championships and won gold at the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
Nicholas David Green OAM is an Australian former rower, a dual Olympic gold medallist and four time World Champion. From 1990 to 1998 he was a member of Australia's prominent world class crew – the coxless four known as the Oarsome Foursome. Now a sports administrator, since 2014 he has been Chief Executive of Cycling Australia.
Michael Scott McKay, OAM, known as Mike McKay, is an Australian rower, a four-time world champion, a four-time Olympic medallist and Commonwealth Games gold medallist. From 1990 to 1998 he was a member of Australia's prominent world class crew – the coxless four known as the Oarsome Foursome.
James Alexander Stewart is an Australian former rower - a national champion, an U23 world champion and a three-time Olympian.
Kate Elizabeth Slatter OAM is an Australian former rower, a sixteen time national champion, world champion and Olympic champion from Adelaide, South Australia. She is a three-time Olympian who in 1996 won Australia's first Olympic gold in women's rowing.
Megan Leanne Marcks, OAM is an Australian former national, Olympic and world champion rower. She is an Olympic and World Champion in the coxless pair who represented Australia at the Olympics in 1992 and 1996.
Boden Joseph "Bo" Hanson is a four time Australian Olympian rowing, three time Olympic medalist, specialist coaching consultant, corporate trainer and presenter. Hansen won his three bronze medals at the Atlanta (1996), Sydney (2000) and Athens (2004) Olympic games His professional career includes founding high-performance consultancy Athlete Assessments in 2007, and Team8 which presents to corporate audiences.
Matthew Long is an Australian former Olympian rower. He was an Australian national champion, a representative at World Championships and won a bronze medal in the coxless pair at Sydney 2000
Brett Hayman is an Australian three time world champion, a dual Olympian and an Australian national champion rowing coxswain. He won a silver medal at the 2000 Sydney Olympics steering the Australian men's eight. He coxed Australian crews at every premier world rowing regatta from 1993 to 2000.
Samuel Patten is a former Australian World Champion rower and Olympic medallist. His professional career has been as an orthopaedic surgeon specialising in hip and knee surgery and based in Melbourne. From 1990 to 1991 he was a member of Australia's prominent world class crew – the coxless four known as the Oarsome Foursome.
Benjamin Philip Dodwell is an Australian former rower - a nine-time national champion, a triple Olympian, Olympic medal winner and representative at World Rowing Championships.
Spencer Alf Turrin is an Australian representative rower. He is a national champion, twice world champion, a dual Olympian and an Olympic champion. He competed and won medals in the Australian senior men's coxless four at every World Rowing Championship from 2013 to 2018, culminating in consecutive world championship gold at Sarasota 2017 and 2018 Plovdiv. He rowed in the two seat of the Australian men's coxless four to a gold medal victory at the Tokyo Olympics.
Alexander Hill is an Australian representative rower. He is an Australian national champion, a dual Olympian, an Olympic gold and silver medallist and was the 2017 and 2018 world champion in the coxless four. He stroked the Australian men's coxless four to a gold medal victory at the Tokyo Olympics.
Joshua Hicks is an Australian representative rower. He is an Olympian and a two-time world champion who won gold in the coxless four at the 2017 World Rowing Championships and defended that title at Plovdiv in 2018. He competed in the Australian men's coxless pair at Tokyo 2021.
Jack Hargreaves is an Australian representative rower and a world and an Olympic champion. He won consecutive world championships in the coxless four at the 2017 World Rowing Championships, then successfully defended that title at 2018 Plovdiv. He rowed in the three seat of the Australian men's coxless four to a gold medal victory at the Tokyo Olympics.
Noel Donaldson is an Australian former rowing coxswain and has since 1990 been a prominent and successful world-class rowing coach of Victorian state, Australian national and later, New Zealand national crews.
James Lowe is an Australian former Olympic representative rower. He was a four time national champion, represented twice at World Rowing Championships and competed at the 1980 Summer Olympics and the 1984 Summer Olympics.
