 | |||||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Daniel Hunter Williamson | ||||||||||||||
| Born | 30 March 2000 Auckland, New Zealand | ||||||||||||||
| Education | Yale University | ||||||||||||||
| Height | 6 ft 6 in (198 cm) | ||||||||||||||
| Sport | |||||||||||||||
| Country | New Zealand | ||||||||||||||
| Sport | Rowing | ||||||||||||||
| Club | Auckland Rowing Club | ||||||||||||||
Medal record
| |||||||||||||||
Daniel Hunter Williamson (born 30 March 2000) is an Olympic champion New Zealand rower. [1]
Williamson was born on 30 March 2000, in Auckland [2] and grew up in Beachlands, an outer suburb of Auckland. He attended Howick College, where he took up rowing in 2014. In the following year, he began attending King's College. [3] He was an avid athlete, but his limbs were growing fast. He had to quit soccer due to chronic shin splints. This prompted young Daniel to take up rowing.
At age 14, Dan's rowing career began at Counties Manakau Rowing Club with encouragement from his best friend's mother. He spent his first year rowing for Counties and Howick College. He won 5th in the U16 Single, shocking his friends and family and pushing him to greatness.
Before attending Yale University, Daniel was the 2017 NZ National Champion in U18 2-, U18 4x+, U17 4x+ and he won Bronze in the U17 4+. At the 2017 World Rowing Championships, he won Silver in the M4-. He was also named the 2017 Kings College Sportsman of the year. In 2018, Williamson was the NZ National Champion in U20 2-, U22 2-, U22 4-, and he won Bronze in the premier 8+. He also won bronze at the 2018 World Rowing U23 Championships in M4-. [4]
In his first year at Yale, he sat in the stroke seat in the 1V to help win gold at the 2019 IRA Nationals. He also helped the Yale 1v to win Eastern Sprints that year.
He won gold in the men's eight event at the 2020 Summer Olympics. [5]
In his final year at Yale, Williamson was named the recipient of the William Neely Mallory Award, the most prestigious athletic award given to a senior male at Yale. The Mallory Award is presented to the senior man who on the field of play and in life at Yale best represents the highest ideals of American sportsmanship and Yale tradition. [6]
King's College, often informally referred to simply as King's, is an independent secondary boarding and day school in New Zealand. It educates over 1000 pupils, aged 13 to 18 years. King's was originally a single sex boys school but has admitted girls in the Sixth and Seventh forms since 1980, and in the Fifth form since 2016. King's was founded in 1896 by Graham Bruce. King's was originally situated in Remuera, Auckland, on the site now occupied by King's School, Remuera, in 1922 the school moved to its present site in the South Auckland suburb of Ōtāhuhu.
A. Joshua West is a dual citizen British-American Olympic rower and Earth Sciences professor. He is a two-time World Championship silver medalist, a World Championship bronze medalist, and a four-time Cambridge Blue, and represented Great Britain in the eight at the 2004 Olympic Games, won a bronze medal in the eight in the 2007 World Cup series, and won a bronze medal at the 2007 World Championships in the eight, and won a silver medal in the eight in the 2008 Olympic Games.
Richard "Rusty" Donald Wailes, a.k.a. Perfect Oarsman was an American rower.
Tom Laurich is an Australian former rower – a junior world champion, a national champion, an Olympian and a medallist at World Championships. He has coached crews at the elite world class level.
Alexander Mahé Owens Drysdale is a New Zealand politician and retired rower. Drysdale is a two-time Olympic champion and a five-time world champion in the single sculls. He is a seven-time New Zealand national champion and five-time recipient of New Zealand Sportsman of the Year. He is the current mayor of Tauranga.
Athol John "Joe" Earl is a former New Zealand rower who won two Olympic medals.
Shane Joseph O'Brien is a former New Zealand rower who won an Olympic gold medal at the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, California, USA.
Ian Andrew Wright is a former New Zealand rower who won an Olympic bronze medal at the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul. Wright won 31 national titles during his career. After his rowing career ended, he became a coach and his Swiss lightweight men's four team won gold at the 2016 Summer Olympics. He was announced as Australia's head rowing coach in September 2016. He immediately coached the Australian men's four to a gold medal at the 2017 world rowing championships in Sarasota, Florida.
Peter Gregory Johnston, known as Greg Johnston, is a former New Zealand rower who won an Olympic bronze medal at the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul. During his rowing career, Johnston has won 26 national championship titles in rowing, and was world champion in 1983 in the coxed four event.
Howick College is a state co-educational secondary school located in the eastern Auckland, New Zealand suburb of Cockle Bay. Serving Years 9 to 13, the school has a roll of 2136 students as of August 2024.
Martin Sauer is a German former representative rowing coxswain. He was an eight-time world champion at the senior level and three-time underage world champion. He is a triple Olympian and a triple Olympic medallist. He held his seat as coxswain of the German senior men's eight — the Deutschlandachter — constantly from 2009 to 2021 and steered that crew to their six world championship titles and also when at the 2017 World Rowing Cup II they set a world's best time of 5.18.68, which still the standing world mark as of 2021.
Grace Elizabeth Prendergast is a former New Zealand sweep rower. She is a 15-time national champion in the premier category, an Olympic champion, a five-time world champion and the current (2022) world champion in the coxless pair. She grew up in Christchurch, where she started rowing for the Avon Rowing Club in 2007. She competed at the Tokyo Olympics in two boat classes and won gold in the coxless pair and a silver in the eight and set a new world's best time in the pair. Various parties, including the World Rowing Federation, expected her to win medals in Tokyo. She was the highest ranked female rower in the world twice in a row in 2019 and 2021. Since 2014, her rowing partner in the coxless pair has been Kerri Gowler. Prendergast is also a Boat Race winner, having competed as part of Cambridge University Boat Club's (CUBC) women's crew in 2022. She retired from professional rowing in October 2022.
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.
Michael Brake is a New Zealand rower. He is a dual Olympian and won Olympic gold at Tokyo 2020.
Thomas James Murray is a New Zealand rower. Born and raised in Blenheim, he is a member of New Zealand's national rowing team and has competed in the eight and in the coxless pair. In the smaller boat, he has medalled in two World Rowing Championships; bronze in 2017 and silver in 2019. At the 2016 Rio Olympics, he competed with the eight and won gold in the same boat class at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. Murray has won four consecutive premier national titles in the coxless pair. He has been world champion in age group rowing events three times.
David Edward Lindstrom is a New Zealand rower.
Brooke Francis is a New Zealand rower. She has twice won the world championship in the double scull alongside Olivia Loe, is the incumbent world champion, and won a silver medal in this class at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics with rowing partner Hannah Osborne, followed by a gold medal at the 2024 Paris Olympics with Lucy Spoors. As of 2021, she has won ten premier national rowing championships.
Ashlee Rowe is a New Zealand rower.
Jack Lopas is a New Zealand rower. He is nominated to compete at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics in the double sculls in a team with Chris Harris.
