Alastair Gordon (born 8 December 1976 in

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

) is an Australian rower who won a silver medal at the 2000 Sydney Olympics. He's one of only two Australian oarsmen to have twice won the

Grand Challenge Cup The Grand Challenge Cup is a rowing competition for men's eights. It is the oldest and best-known event at the annual Henley Royal Regatta on the River Thames at Henley-on-Thames in England. It is open to male crews from all eligible rowing cl ...

at the

Henley Royal Regatta Henley Royal Regatta (or Henley Regatta, its original name pre-dating Royal patronage) is a rowing event held annually on the River Thames by the town of Henley-on-Thames, England. It was established on 26 March 1839. It differs from the thre ...

Club and state rowing

Gordon was educated at The King's School in Sydney where he took up rowing. His senior club rowing was done from the Sydney Rowing Club. Gordon first made state selection for New South Wales in the 1995 youth eight who won the Noel Wilkinson Trophy at the Interstate Regatta within the Australian Rowing Championships. In 1996 he made the New South Wales senior men's eight to contest the

King's Cup __NOTOC__ King's Cup (incl. translations), may refer to: Sports Football * Copa del Rey, Spanish for "King's Cup," the main national knockout tournament in men's football * King Cup (sometimes named King's Cup), Saudi Arabian men's football nati ...

at the Interstate Regatta within the Australian Rowing Championships. He raced in four further

eights for New South Wales in 1997, 1998, 1999, and 2000. His

career was during a period of Victorian dominance.

International representative rowing

Gordon's Australian representative debut came in 1996 when he was selected to row a coxless pair with Daniel Burke at the World Rowing U23 Championships in Hazewinkel. They rowed to a silver . In 1997 he secured a seat in the Australian men's senior eight. He raced in the eight at two World Rowing Cups in Europe that year and then at the

as an

Australian Institute of Sport The Australian Institute of Sport (AIS) is a high performance sports training institution in Australia. The Institute's headquarters were opened in 1981 and are situated in the northern suburb of Bruce, Canberra. The AIS is a division of the ...

crew they contested and won the 1997

. At the

1997 World Rowing Championships The 1997 World Rowing Championships were World Rowing Championships that were held from 31 August to 7 September 1997 at Lac d'Aiguebelette, France. The annual week-long rowing regatta was organized by FISA (the International Rowing Federation), ...

in Aiguebelette, France he rowed in the six seat for their third placing in the final and to a bronze medal.Gordon at World Rowing
/ref> He held his seat in the Australian eight in 1998 and raced at the

1998 World Rowing Championships The 1998 World Rowing Championships were World Rowing Championships that were held from 9 to 18 September 1998 in Cologne, Germany. The World Rowing Championships are organized by FISA, the International Rowing Federation. Medal summary Men's e ...

in Cologne to a sixth-place finish. Then in 1999 he was again the eight competing at the

1999 World Rowing Championships The 1999 World Rowing Championships were World Rowing Championships that were held from 22 to 29 August 1999 at the Royal Canadian Henley Rowing Course in St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada. Medal summary Men's events Women's events Medal ...

in St Catharine's Canada to a seventh-place finish. In the 2000 Olympic year Gordon was secure in the Australian eight. He rowed in both World Rowing Cup races in Europe in their lead up campaign as well as at the

where they raced as an

eight and won that year's

. At Sydney 2000 the Australian eight won their heat in a pace that blew away the eventual gold medallists Great Britain. However, in the final they started slowly and their late sprint home left them 0.8 seconds behind the Brits at the line and taking the silver Olympic medal in a thrilling finish. Gordon's record in winning two

s at the

is a rare feat for British rowers, but never before achieved by an Australian oarsman.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Gordon, Alastair 1976 births Living people Australian male rowers Rowers from Sydney Rowers at the 2000 Summer Olympics Olympic silver medalists for Australia Olympic rowers for Australia Olympic medalists in rowing Medalists at the 2000 Summer Olympics World Rowing Championships medalists for Australia 21st-century Australian people Sportsmen from New South Wales People educated at The King's School, Parramatta