 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nationality | British | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | 3 April 1994 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.93 m (6 ft 4 in) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Country | Great Britain | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | Rowing | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Event | Coxless four | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Club | Oxford Brookes | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Rory Gibbs (born 3 April 1994) is a British representative rower - an Olympic and a two-time world champion. He won the 2022 and 2023 world championship titles in the British men's eight. [1] Between 2016 and 2023 he rowed in victorious crews across six events at the Henley Royal Regatta. [2]
Gibbs took up rowing after picking up injuries playing rugby. [1] He was educated at Millfield School and Oxford Brookes university where he was a relative late starter in taking up rowing. [2]
Racing for Oxford Brookes, Gibbs enjoyed an incredible run of victories at the Henley Royal Regatta as he proceeded through his developmental stages - in 2016 a victory in the Temple Challenge Cup (for university eights); in 2017 & 2018 victory in the Ladies' Challenge Plate (for club and university eights below international standard); in 2019 the Stewards' Challenge Cup (for club and university coxless fours). In 2022, he won the Grand Challenge Cup (the blue riband event at Henley) in the bow of a composite Leander/Oxford Brookes crew. [2] In 2023 again in Oxford Brookes colours, he was at five in the Leander/Oxford Brookes eight for another Grand Challenge Cup victory. [3]
Gibbs first made national selection for Great Britain into the U23 men's eight for the 2015 U23 World Rowing Championships in Plovdiv. That crew rowed to a fifth placing. [4] In 2016 Gibbs was selected to the British coxed four for the U23 World Championships and another overall fifth placing. [4]
2019 saw Gibbs selected into the Great Britain men's senior squad and medal success soon followed. He won a gold medal in the coxless four at the 2019 European Rowing Championships with Oliver Cook, Matthew Rossiter and Sholto Carnegie [5] then that same crew won a bronze medal at the 2019 World Rowing Championships. [6] [5]
That crew of Gibbs, Cook, Rossiter and Carnegie stayed together throughout the Covid lost season of 2020 whilst knowing their 2019 performances had qualified the boat for the eventual 2020 Tokyo Olympics. In 2021, they won a second European gold medal as a 4- in Varese, Italy, [7] then took gold at the World Rowing Cup II. At the Tokyo Olympic regatta they won their heat, comfortably beating the eventual bronze medallists Italy. In the Olympic final they were in medal contention at each mark but were run down by the Italians in the last 500m and finished in fourth place. [4]
2022 saw Gibbs selected in the bow seat of the Great Britain senior men's eight. In that international season the eight won gold at two World Rowing Cups and at the 2022 European Rowing Championships. [8] Gibbs in the British eight went on to win gold and a world championship title at the 2022 World Rowing Championships in Račice. In 2023 Gibbs won a second successive world championship in the men's eight at the 2023 World Rowing Championships in Belgrade. [9]
He won a gold medal as part of the Great Britain eight at the 2024 Summer Olympics. [10]
Oxford Brookes University Boat Club is the rowing club of Oxford Brookes University, England. Its large base is on the longest reach of the non-tidal parts of the Thames, at Wallingford, in Oxfordshire – about 6 miles (10 km) of easily rowable, little-congested river. The club has been very successful at pre-training and co-training many Olympic competitors including those for Great Britain who won 6 golds at Olympics spread across three consecutive games, starting with the games of 2000.
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.
Reading University Boat Club is the rowing club for the University of Reading in the United Kingdom. It is based at a boat house in Christchurch Meadows on the River Thames in the Reading suburb of Caversham. The club has a focus on sculling. It has consistently been one of the more successful university rowing clubs in Britain, including topping the medal table at the BUCS regatta in 2011 and at the BUCS small boats head in 2014 and 2015, as well as wins at Henley Royal Regatta in 1986, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011 and 2013, and is considered one of the top six university rowing clubs in the UK. A number of former members have competed at the Olympics, including double gold-medallists James Cracknell and Helen Glover. The club has organised the Reading University Head of the River race since 1935.
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.
Alexander (Steve) Purnell is an Australian rower. He is an Olympic and national champion who has represented at underage and senior world championships. In 2018 in an Australian eight, he won the Grand Challenge Cup at the Henley Royal Regatta. He rowed in the bow seat of the Australian men's coxless four to a gold medal victory at the Tokyo Olympics.
Angus Widdicombe is an Australian rower. He is an Olympian, an Australian national champion, has represented at underage and senior world championships, winning consecutive silver medals at the 2017 and 2018 World Championships. He stroked the Australian men's eight at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics.
Timothy Masters is an Australian rower. He is a national champion, a representative and silver medallist at World Championships, and a three-time silver medallist at World Rowing U23 Championships. He rowed in the Australian men's eight at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics.
Henry Fieldman is a British rowing coxswain. He has been twice a world champion and is a two-time Olympic medalist.
Thomas Ford is a British national representative rower. He is an Olympic and two-time world champion in the men's eight event.
James Rudkin is a British national representative rower. He is an Olympic and two-time world champion.
Jacob Dawson is a rower representing Great Britain. He is an Olympic and world champion with both those titles won in the men's eight event.
Sholto Carnegie is a British representative rower. He is an Olympic and a two-time world champion in the Great Britain men's eight.
Charles Richard Jeremy Elwes is a British national representative rower. He is an Olympic and two-time world champion.
Frederick Davidson is a British representative rower. He is a two-time world champion with his titles being won in 2022 and 2023 in the men's coxless four.
Morgan Bolding is a British representative rower. He is an Olympic and two-time world champion.
David Bewicke-Copley is a British representative rower. He was a 2022 world champion and has twice won the Grand Challenge Cup at Henley.
Thomas William Kenelm Digby is a British national representative rower. He is an Olympic and two-time world champion.
Harry Brightmore is a British rowing coxswain. He is an Olympic and two-time world champion.
David Ambler is a British rower.
