Robert "Bob" Alan Shirlaw (born 9 April 1943) is an Australian former

rower Rowing, sometimes called crew in the United States, is the sport of racing boats using oars. It differs from paddling sports in that rowing oars are attached to the boat using oarlocks, while paddles are not connected to the boat. Rowing is ...

and stalwart school level rowing coach. He rowed at the 1964 Summer Olympics and the

1968 Summer Olympics The 1968 Summer Olympics ( es, Juegos Olímpicos de Verano de 1968), officially known as the Games of the XIX Olympiad ( es, Juegos de la XIX Olimpiada) and commonly known as Mexico 1968 ( es, México 1968), were an international multi-sport eve ...

Club and state rowing

He was born in Sydney and his senior rowing was with the

Mosman Rowing Club Mosman Rowing Club is an all-level competitive and recreational rowing club on the North Shore of Sydney. Since 2007 the club's facilities have been wholly located at The Spit in Sydney's Middle Harbour, the northern arm of Port Jackson. Merc ...

. In 1963 and 1964 he was the New South Wales selected sculler to contest the President's Cup - the interstate single sculls championship - at the Australian Interstate Regatta. He placed third on both occasions. Then in 1967 he won the President's Cup and the interstate single sculls championshi
1967 Interstate Regatta
In 1964 and 1966 he won the national coxless pair title at 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 ...

- both times paired with

Roger Ninham Roger Arthur Ninham (23 September 1942 – 1985) was an Australian Olympian stillwater rower, a surfboat rower and surfcraft boat builder. As a stillwater rower he was a four-time national champion across both sculling and sweep-oared boats and ...

. In 1966 he also contested the coxless four title in a composite Haberfield/Mosman crew.

International representative rowing

In 1964 as the Australian champion coxless pair, Shirlaw and Roger Ninham were selected as Australia's coxless pair to compete at the 1964 Tokyo Olympics in the

coxless pair A coxless pair is a rowing boat used in the sport of competitive rowing. It is designed for two rowers, who propel the boat with sweep oars. The crew consists of a pair of rowers, each having one oar, one on the stroke side (rower's right ...

. They finished third in the B final for an overall ninth place. Four years later he won the silver medal in the bow seat of the Australian eight at the

Mexico Olympics The 1968 Summer Olympics ( es, Juegos Olímpicos de Verano de 1968), officially known as the Games of the XIX Olympiad ( es, Juegos de la XIX Olimpiada) and commonly known as Mexico 1968 ( es, México 1968), were an international multi-sport eve ...

. Shirlaw had been a reserve for the 1968 victorious New South Wales King's Cup crew who were selected in toto as the Australian eight to represent at the

Phil Cayzer Philip Arthur Cayzer OAM, (13 May 1922 – 15 July 2015) was an Australian national champion rower who won medals in the 1952 Summer Olympics and the 1950 British Empire Games. He coached at state and national representative level taking Austra ...

recruited several of the rowers from Mosman including Shirlaw, to

Sydney Rowing Club Sydney Rowing Club is the oldest rowing club in New South Wales, Australia formed in 1870. It has occupied its current site on Port Jackson's Parramatta River at Abbotsford Point since 1874. The club has a focus on its high performance and elite ...

to create the New South Wales crew in the first place and then coached them as the Australian eight both at home and in Mexico. Final selections for the eight saw David Douglas and Shirlaw selected in place of John Nickson and Mosman's John Clarke who became reserves. In the final in Mexico the Australian eight raced superbly. They kept a low profile in the first 1200m Australians, and then moved up to the leading crews 100 metres from the line. In the final sprint the Germans in a boat some 34 kg lighter than any other in the race, held on by less than a second in front of the Australians.

Coaching career

From 1979 Shirlaw was rowing coach at Shore, the Sydney Church of England Grammar School for 34 years. In 2013 he moved to St Joseph's College, Hunters Hill and assisted that school in 2015 win its first Head of the River (New South Wales), AAGPS Head of the River win in 42 years. He moved to The Scots College in 2017 as Director of Rowing. Shirlaw received a Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) in the 2008 Australia Day Honours for "service to rowing as a coach, administrator and competitor, and to education".

References

External links

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Shirlaw, Bob 1943 births Living people Australian male rowers Olympic rowers for Australia Rowers at the 1964 Summer Olympics Rowers at the 1968 Summer Olympics Olympic silver medalists for Australia Olympic medalists in rowing Medalists at the 1968 Summer Olympics Recipients of the Medal of the Order of Australia Australian rowing coaches Rowers from Sydney Sportsmen from New South Wales