Graham Benton

Last updated

Graham Benton
Personal information
Nickname(s)Big G
Erg Daddy
NationalityBritish
Bornc. 1973
Years active2002-present
Height200 cm (6 ft 7 in)
Sport
CountryUnited Kingdom
Sport Indoor rowing
Weight classHeavyweight
TeamMAD Team IRC
Coached byEddie Fletcher
Achievements and titles
World finals6x
National finals15x
Personal best5:42.5 for 2000m

Graham Benton is a British indoor rower. [1] [2] He has won the British Rowing Indoor Championships 15 times and the World Indoor Rowing Championships six. [3] [4] While Benton is primarily an indoor rower, he did row on the water, representing England and competing at several Henley Royal Regattas. [5]

Contents

Athletic career

Benton competed in his first indoor rowing competition at age 29. [5] In 2004, Graham Benton became the first non-water rower to win the men's open heavyweight event at the British Indoor Rowing Championships at 5:53.5. [6] [7] He went on to win this title again in 2005 (5:46.9), [8] 2006 (5:46.7), [9] 2007, 2008, [10] 2010 (5:50.8), [11] 2011 (5:46), [12] 2012, [5] [13] [14] [15] 2013 (5:52.4), [16] 2014 (5:52.4), [17] 2015 (5:55:6), [18] 2016 (5:55), [19] 2017 (5:55.7), [20] , 2018 [21] [2] and 2023 [22] Benton also won the 30-39 year heavyweight class World Indoor Rowing Championships in 2004 (5:51.40), [23] 2005 (5:53.60), [24] [25] and 2006 (5:46.40) [26] [27] and in the 40-49 heavyweight class in 2016 (5:48.3), [28] [4] [29] 2017 (5:48), [30] and 2018 (5:54). [31] [2] [32] [33]

In 2012, he set a new British record in the 35-39 heavyweight men's class at the British Indoor Rowing Championships (5:50.1), a title previously held by Sir Steve Redgrave since 1998. [5] In 2014, he held the British outright record at 5:42.5 and in 2017, he had the fastest time in the men's heavyweight open 2000m at the Welsh Indoor Rowing Championships. [34] [17] He was a Henley Royal Regatta finalist in outdoor rowing in 2007, 2008, and 2012. [2] [5] He was given a Lifetime Achievement Award by Concept2 in 2010.[ citation needed ]

Benton is coached by Eddie Fletcher and was previously part of the ARA World Class Start Program. He currently rows for MAD Team IRC, [26] [15] [4] and has previously rowed for Tideway Scullers School, Taurus and Reading University Boat Club.

Personal life

Benton works as an Account Manager for BMC Software. [1] He was formerly an "elite-level" cricket bowler and is an alumnus of King's School, Chester. [35] [26] [5] He is from Wrexham originally and now lives in Southsea, Hampshire.

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References

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  2. 1 2 3 4 "Veterans Head: Bradley Wiggins makes his Tideway rowing debut". We Row. 26 March 2018. Retrieved 15 May 2022.
  3. ↑ "Mizuno British Rowing Indoor Championships 2019". Sports on Spec. 7 December 2019. Retrieved 15 May 2022.
  4. 1 2 3 "FITNESS MATTERS INDOOR ROWING AMBASSADORS". Fitness Matters. 2016. Retrieved 15 May 2022.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "BENTON'S DEVOTED INDOOR ROWING DRIVE". World Rowing. 8 December 2013. Retrieved 15 May 2022.
  6. ↑ "British success at the World Indoor Rowing Championships". We Row. 22 February 2018. Retrieved 15 May 2022.
  7. ↑ "Indoor success for county rowing stars". Worcester News. 27 November 2004. Retrieved 15 May 2022.
  8. ↑ "British Indoor Champs 2005". The Rowing Service. 20 November 2005. Retrieved 15 May 2022.
  9. ↑ "British Indoor Rowing Championships 2006". The Rowing Service. 12 November 2006. Retrieved 15 May 2022.
  10. ↑ "Rowing: Weighell makes top 10 in London". Wales Online. 2009. Retrieved 15 May 2022.
  11. ↑ "Event A1 - Men Open Hwt" (PDF). Row2k. 2010. Retrieved 15 May 2022.
  12. ↑ "3,000 BRITS GO INDOOR FOR ROWING". World Rowing. 7 December 2011. Retrieved 15 May 2022.
  13. ↑ "Indoor rowing records smashed at the 2012 BIRC". British Rowing. 26 March 2012. Retrieved 15 May 2022.
  14. ↑ Waddle, Harry (28 March 2012). "Rowing success for University Boat Club". University of Nottingham. Retrieved 15 May 2022.
  15. 1 2 "Steve Redgrave's Last Indoor Rowing Record Is Broken". Male XTRA. 2 April 2012. Retrieved 15 May 2022.
  16. ↑ "Records tumble at British Indoor Champs". British Rowing. 11 December 2013. Retrieved 15 May 2022.
  17. 1 2 "[07/01/2014] EL INGLÉS GRAHAM BENTON INSTAURA UN NUEVO RÉCORD DEL MUNDO EN 40-49 AÑOS" (in Spanish). Vermont. 7 January 2014. Retrieved 15 May 2022.
  18. ↑ "British Rowing Indoor Championships" (PDF). British Rowing. 15 December 2015. Retrieved 15 May 2022.
  19. ↑ "CHAMPIONSHIP RECORDS". Indoor Champs Results. n.d. Retrieved 15 May 2022.
  20. ↑ "British Rowing Indoor Championships" (PDF). British Rowing. 9 December 2017. Retrieved 15 May 2022.
  21. ↑ "Sat, 11:11 - Race 109 - M40 2000 meter". Regatta Time-Team. 2020. Retrieved 15 May 2022.
  22. ↑ "Masters 50-54 Open 2000m". British Indoor Rowing. 2023. Retrieved 13 December 2023.
  23. ↑ "Results of Event: Master Men". CRASH-B. 2004. Retrieved 15 May 2022.
  24. ↑ Bray, Melissa (13 November 2006). "Three in a row for Benton at the British Champs". World Rowing. Archived from the original on 28 June 2007. Retrieved 15 May 2022.
  25. ↑ "Results of Event: Master Men (30-39, Heavyweight)". CRASH-B. 2005. Retrieved 15 May 2022.
  26. 1 2 3 Bordeau, Topher (2006). "Quick catches". Rowing News. Retrieved 15 May 2022.
  27. ↑ "Results of Event: Open Men". CRASH-B. 2006. Retrieved 15 May 2022.
  28. ↑ "35 YEARS OF INDOOR ROWING AT CRASH-BS". World Rowing. 1 March 2016. Retrieved 15 May 2022.
  29. ↑ Rosenbladt, Oli (29 February 2016). "CRASH-B 2016: 35 Years of the Burn". Row2k. Retrieved 15 May 2022.
  30. ↑ "World Champion". Termaxx. 10 August 2017. Retrieved 15 May 2022.
  31. ↑ "ERG SPRINTS RECORDS". ERG Springs. 8 February 2019. Retrieved 15 May 2022.
  32. ↑ "2018 2000m RowErg Rankings". Concept2. 2018. Retrieved 15 May 2022.
  33. ↑ "Graham Benton's World Rowing Indoor Championship review". British Rowing. 27 February 2018. Retrieved 15 May 2022.
  34. ↑ "Rowing: Stroke of genius by Benton". Wales Onlineaccess-date=2022-05-15. 2017.
  35. ↑ "Notable Alumni". The King's School, Chester. n.d. Retrieved 15 May 2022.
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