Benjamin Philip Dodwell (born 17 April 1972 in

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

) is an Australian former rower - a nine-time national champion, a triple Olympian, Olympic medal winner and representative at

World Rowing Championships The World Rowing Championships is an international rowing regatta organized by FISA (the International Rowing Federation). It is a week-long event held at the end of the northern hemisphere summer and in non-Olympic years is the highlight of th ...

Club and state rowing

Dodwell was educated at

Melbourne Grammar School (Pray and Work) , established = 1849 (on present site since 1858 - the celebrated date of foundation) , type = Independent, co-educational primary, single-sex boys secondary, day and boarding , denomination ...

where he took up rowing. He rowed in the school's first VIII of 1988. Four years later he would be competing at the

Barcelona Olympics The 1992 Summer Olympics ( es, Juegos Olímpicos de Verano de 1992, ca, Jocs Olímpics d'estiu de 1992), officially known as the Games of the XXV Olympiad ( es, Juegos de la XXV Olimpiada, ca, Jocs de la XXV Olimpíada) and commonly known as ...

. From school he joined the Mercantile Rowing Club in Melbourne. Later during his Australian representative period he would row from the

UTS Haberfield Rowing Club UTS Haberfield Rowing Club in Sydney was formed as Haberfield Rowing Club in 1925. It has occupied its current site on Port Jackson's, Iron Cove at Dobroyd Point since 1926. The club had a senior and lightweight Sydney premiership & national com ...

in Sydney. Dodwell's first state representation came in 1990 when he was selected in the Victorian youth eight who contested and won the Noel F Wilkinson Trophy at the Interstate Regatta in the

Australian Rowing Championships Australian(s) may refer to: Australia * Australia, a country * Australians, citizens of the Commonwealth of Australia ** European Australians ** Anglo-Celtic Australians, Australians descended principally from British colonists ** Aboriginal Aus ...

. In 1992 he was selected in the Victorian senior men's eight to race for 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. He raced in further

eights in 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1998, 1999 and 2000. He enjoyed a particular period of Victorian dominance winning every King's Cup he contested excepting 1999. In Mercantile Rowing Club colours he contested national titles at the

on a number of occasions. He achieved a third place in the national men's coxless pair in 1992 and in 1993 he won that Australian championship title in the coxless pair. In 2010 Dodwell was inducted as a member of the Rowing Victoria Hall of Fame.

International representative rowing

Dodwell's Australian representative debut was at the

in 1992 at aged twenty in his first year of senior club and state rowing.Dodwell at World Rowing
/ref> He rowed in the five seat of the Australian men's eight who made the Olympic final and finished in fifth place. He held a seat in the Australian eight into 1993 and competed at the

1993 World Rowing Championships The 1993 World Rowing Championships were World Rowing Championships that were held from 30 August to 5 September 1993 at Račice, Czech Republic. Medal summary Men's events Women's events Medal table References {{World Rowing Cha ...

where the eight placed fourth. In 1994 Dodwell was selected to stroke the men's coxless four who competed at the

1994 World Rowing Championships The 1994 World Rowing Championships were World Rowing Championships that were held from 11 to 18 September 1994 at Eagle Creek Park, Indianapolis Indianapolis (), colloquially known as Indy, is the state capital and most populous city of ...

in Indianapolis for an eleventh place finish. In 1995 he moved back into the Australian men's eight who finished in eleventh place at the

World Championships A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game, ...

in Tampere. He held his seat at six in the eight and competed in his second Olympic Games at Atlanta 1996 for a sixth place finish. Dodwell took a representative break after Atlanta and then moved back into selection contention in 1998. Australia's prominent crew of the early nineties, the

Oarsome Foursome The Oarsome Foursome is the nickname for an Australian men's rowing coxless four crew who competed with a clear lineage between 1990 and 2012, winning two Olympic gold medals and one silver medal, two world championships as a coxless four, and ...

were in their first year of a post Olympics comeback in 1998 and had moved into coxed boats. Together with Bo Hanson and the twins Geoff and James Stewart, Dodwell took seats in the Australian men's coxless four with their eyes on a 2000 Olympics campaign. They were up against the gun British foursome including Steve Redgrave and

Matthew Pinsent Sir Matthew Clive Pinsent, (; born 10 October 1970) is an English rower and broadcaster. During his rowing career, he won 10 world championship gold medals and four consecutive Olympic gold medals. Since retiring, he has worked as a sports br ...

. 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' ...

Dodwell and the Australian coxless four finished in fourth place. At the 1999 World Championships in St Catharines Canada, they won a silver medal behind Great Britain. Dodwell, Hanson and the Stewarts remained together into the 2000 Olympic year and in the lead-up they rowed at two World Rowing Cups in Europe. At

Sydney 2000 The 2000 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXVII Olympiad and also known as Sydney 2000 (Dharug: ''Gadigal 2000''), the Millennium Olympic Games or the Games of the New Millennium, was an international multi-sport event held from 1 ...

they again came up against the same champion British four they'd met in 1998 - Redgrave and Pinsent with

James Cracknell James Edward Cracknell, (born 5 May 1972) is a British athlete, rowing champion and double Olympic gold medalist. Cracknell was appointed OBE for "services to sport" in the 2005 New Year Honours List. Biography Cracknell began rowing whilst ...

and

Tim Foster Timothy James Carrington Foster, MBE (born 19 January 1970) is an English rower who won a gold medal at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, Australia. Career He began rowing at Bedford Modern School and competed in the World Rowing Junior Ch ...

. The British went out the fast in the first 500m and maintained the lead throughout. The Italians got into 2nd place in the second 500m and also held that spot. The Australians left their run till the 3rd 500m and could never recover to better than third place. The Australian's took bronze and Redgrave's fairytale five Olympic gold medal came true. It was a fitting final representative performance for Dodwell in his home country Olympics.

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Dodwell, Ben 1972 births Living people Australian male rowers Rowers from Melbourne Rowers at the 1992 Summer Olympics Rowers at the 1996 Summer Olympics Rowers at the 2000 Summer Olympics Olympic bronze medalists for Australia Olympic rowers for Australia Olympic medalists in rowing World Rowing Championships medalists for Australia Medalists at the 2000 Summer Olympics 20th-century Australian people Sportsmen from Victoria (state)