Anton Wright is an adventurer, rowing coach, and—alongside

Mark de Rond Mark de Rond is Professor of Organizational Ethnography at Cambridge University (Judge Business School). He studies people by living with them under similar conditions so as to better understand how they experience, and develop meaningful relat ...

—holder of the

Guinness World Record ''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a reference book published annually, listing world ...

for the first unsupported row of the navigable length of the Amazon River.

Career

Clare College, Cambridge

Anton Wright was the Head Coach and Boathouse Manager at

Clare College Clare College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge in Cambridge, England. The college was founded in 1326 as University Hall, making it the second-oldest surviving college of the University after Peterhouse. It was refounded ...

, Cambridge, from 2010 to 2017.

'Row the Amazon': The first unsupported row of the Amazon River

In September 2013, Anton and

began their attempt to be the first people to row the entire length of the

Amazon River The Amazon River (, ; es, Río Amazonas, pt, Rio Amazonas) in South America is the largest river by discharge volume of water in the world, and the disputed longest river system in the world in comparison to the Nile. The headwaters of t ...

unsupported. They started in Nautu,

Peru , image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg , image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg , other_symbol = Great Seal of the State , other_symbol_type = Seal (emblem), National seal , national_motto = "Fi ...

on 1 September 2013 and reached the Brazilian coastal town of Macapa six weeks later. In an article about the expedition,

Reuters Reuters ( ) is a news agency owned by Thomson Reuters Corporation. It employs around 2,500 journalists and 600 photojournalists in about 200 locations worldwide. Reuters is one of the largest news agencies in the world. The agency was estab ...

explained the rowers "will brave piranhas, bandits and disease in an attempt to be the first crew to row the length of the Amazon river." and described how "...they will sleep in turns at night to keep watch for runaway logs in the water which could destroy their boat, anacondas, bull sharks, thieves,

illegal logging Illegal logging is the harvest, transportation, purchase or sale of timber in violation of laws. The harvesting procedure itself may be illegal, including using corrupt means to gain access to forests; extraction without permission, or from a pro ...

and mining operators trying to keep their locations secret and drug traffickers in Brazil's vast rain-forest." An official

certificate was presented to Anton and Mark at the British Consulate in São Paulo on 15 October 2013. The expedition raised money in aid of

Leonard Cheshire Disability Leonard Cheshire is a major health and welfare charity working in the United Kingdom and running development projects around the world. It was founded in 1948 by Royal Air Force officer Group Captain Leonard Cheshire VC. Leonard Cheshire's aim ...

'Row the Thames': The Parkside Challenge

Following the Amazon row, Anton returned to Cambridge and in 2015 the Row the Amazon boat was subsequently repaired by six boys from

Parkside Community College Parkside Community College is a secondary academy school with 600 places for children aged 11–16, situated in Cambridge, Cambridgeshire. It is part of the United Learning Cambridge Cluster, along with Parkside Sixth, Coleridge Community Colleg ...

in Cambridge, during a 14-week adventure experience intended to develop pride and life skills in local school children, which concluded in a largely unsupported row of a 176-mile stretch of the

River Thames The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the The Isis, River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the Longest rivers of the United Kingdom, se ...

Television

''Eden''

In 2016, Anton participated in the experimental British reality TV show '' Eden''. He was described by the ''Guardian'' as "Eden's stand-out character" looking for 'a shot at reinvention'.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wright, Anton 1974 births Living people British male rowers World record holders Clare College, Cambridge English television personalities