William Graham Mason (born 20 August 1950) is a former British Olympic rower and

rowing Rowing is the act of propelling a human-powered watercraft using the sweeping motions of oars to displace water and generate reactional propulsion. Rowing is functionally similar to paddling, but rowing requires oars to be mechanically atta ...

coach.

Rowing career

Mason won silver in the junior coxed four at the 1968 World Junior Championships He won the coxless fours with

Jim Clark James Clark Jr. OBE (4 March 1936 – 7 April 1968) was a British Formula One racing driver from Scotland, who won two World Championships, in 1963 and 1965. A versatile driver, he competed in sports cars, touring cars and in the Indianapol ...

Lenny Robertson Leonard David Robertson (born 10 October 1950) is a British rower who competed in the 1972 Summer Olympics, in the 1976 Summer Olympics, and in the 1980 Summer Olympics. Rowing career Robertson won the coxless fours with Jim Clark, Bill Mason a ...

and Frederick Smallbone, rowing for the

Thames Tradesmen's Rowing Club The Thames Tradesmen's Rowing Club is a rowing club on the Tideway (upper estuary of the Thames) in West London, United Kingdom at Chiswick Boathouse, 100 metres north-west of Barnes Railway & Footbridge – beyond which is Barnes Bridge rai ...

, at the inaugural 1972 National Rowing Championships. Later in 1972 the same crew was selected for Great Britain at the

1972 Summer Olympics The 1972 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XX Olympiad () and commonly known as Munich 1972 (german: München 1972), was an international multi-sport event held in Munich, West Germany, from 26 August to 11 September 1972. ...

where they just failed to reach the final, finishing in fourth place in the semi-finals of the men's coxless four. In 1974 he was part of an eight that won Great Britain's silver medal at the

1974 World Rowing Championships The 1974 World Rowing Championships was the fourth World Rowing Championships. It was held from 4 to 8 September 1974 (for men) and from 29 August to 1 September 1974 (for women) on the Rotsee in Lucerne, Switzerland. The event was significantly ...

and in 1976 went to his second Olympics, where the crew of Mason, Richard Ayling,

Neil Keron Neil Alexander Keron (born 24 March 1953) is a Great Britain, British Rowing (sport), rower who competed in the European Rowing Championships, 1973 European Championships and the 1976 Summer Olympics. In 1973 he was a crew member of the Britis ...

and David Townsend reached the semi-finals of the men's coxless four. He won at

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 ...

three times as an athlete.

Coaching

He has coached multiple crews to victory at

, including Thames Tradesmen's RC, Imperial College BC and Westminster School BC, plus various composite crews. He coached the women's lightweight double sculls to a silver medal in 1986. He also coached the first Great Britain women's sweep crew to win a world title, in 1993, and was chief coach for GB women at the 1996 Olympics.Powerful start for new eight
''The Independent'' 13 March 1995

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Mason, Bill 1950 births Living people British male rowers Olympic rowers for Great Britain Rowers at the 1972 Summer Olympics Rowers at the 1976 Summer Olympics World Rowing Championships medalists for Great Britain