Rick Dunn

Rick Dunn

Personal information
Birth name	Richard Dunn
Born	(1976-03-08) 8 March 1976 (age 49)
Sport
Sport	Rowing
Medal record Men's rowing Representing   Great Britain World Rowing Championships 2000 Zagreb Coxed four 2001 Lucerne Coxless Four 1999 St. Catharines Coxed four 2002 Seville Coxless Four 2003 Milan Coxless Four

Richard C. E. C. Dunn (born 8 March 1976) is a British rower. He won a gold medal at the 2001 World Rowing Championships in Lucerne with the men's coxless four. ^[1] He represented Great Britain at the 2004 Summer Olympics in the coxless pair, where he came seventh with Toby Garbett. ^[2]

Early life and education

Richard Dunn was born on 8 March 1976 in Cambridge, England. ^{[2] [3]} He studied land economy at St Edmund's College, Cambridge, rowing for the Cambridge University Boat Club and ultimately stroking the Light Blues in the Boat Race of 2002. ^[3]

Career

University rowing

Dunn first attracted national notice in October 2001 when student newspaper Varsity reported that he had just returned from Lucerne as a freshly crowned world champion in the men’s coxless four. ^[4]

International career

Dunn debuted for Great Britain at the 1999 World Championships, graduating to the senior coxless four in 2001. At the 2001 World Rowing Championships in Lucerne he, Toby Garbett, Steve Williams and Ed Coode won gold in 5 min 48.98 s, ahead of Germany and Slovenia. ^[5] Dunn stayed in the four for the 2002 campaign and retained his seat when the crew took silver at the World Championships in Seville, finishing behind Canada. ^[6]

A second consecutive silver followed at the 2003 regatta in Milan. ^[7]

Olympic cycle and pair selection (2004)

In early 2004 national coach Jürgen Grobler reshuffled the flagship coxless four, dropping Dunn and Garbett so that Matthew Pinsent and James Cracknell could switch in. Dunn spoke publicly of his “heartache” at the decision and vowed to prove himself in a new coxless pair with Garbett. ^[8] The pair qualified for the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, where they reached the semifinal and raced the B-final. ^[9]

Achievements

Olympic Games

• 2004 – 7th, Coxless pair (with Toby Garbett)

World championships

• 1999 – Silver, Coxed four (with Graham Smith, Jonathan Searle, Jonny Singfield, Alistair Potts (cox))
• 2000 – Gold, Coxed four (with Steve Williams, Toby Garbett, Graham Smith, Alistair Potts (cox), Rick Dunn)
• 2001 – Gold, Coxless four (with Steve Williams, Ed Coode, Toby Garbett)
• 2002 – Silver, Coxless four (with Steve Williams, Josh West, Toby Garbett)
• 2003 – Silver, Coxless four (with Steve Williams, Josh West, Toby Garbett)

References

1. "Rick Dunn". International Rowing Federation . Retrieved 3 February 2018.
2. Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Rick Dunn". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 18 April 2020. Retrieved 3 February 2018.
3. Dodd, Christopher (5 March 2002). "Boat Race Presidents reflect on crew selection". The Guardian. Retrieved 30 June 2025.
4. Weale, Hilary (19 October 2001). "Boatie news" (PDF). Varsity. p. 29. Retrieved 30 June 2025.
5. "2001 World Rowing Championships – Lucerne: Men's Coxless Four final". Australian Rowing History. Retrieved 30 June 2025.
6. Henderson, Jon (1 August 2004). "Hell and highwater". The Observer. Retrieved 30 June 2025.
7. Cross, Martin (23 August 2003). "Britons begin their Olympic quest". The Guardian. Retrieved 30 June 2025.
8. Cross, Martin (19 March 2004). "Dunn tells of paired down despair". The Guardian. Retrieved 30 June 2025.
9. Cross, Martin (28 August 2004). "'Nothing prepared me for the way I feel after winning'". The Guardian. Retrieved 30 June 2025.