Colin Smith is an Australian former lightweight rower. He was an eight time national champion and rowed in the lightweight men's four which won Australia's first rowing World Championship title – a gold 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 ...

Lucerne Lucerne ( , ; High Alemannic German, High Alemannic: ''Lozärn'') or Luzern ()Other languages: gsw, Lozärn, label=Lucerne German; it, Lucerna ; rm, Lucerna . is a city in central Switzerland, in the Languages of Switzerland, German-speaking po ...

. During his career Smith won four medals at

World Championship 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, ...

events.

Club and state rowing

Smith's senior rowing was from the Melbourne University Boat Club. 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 ...

in 1975 and 1977 he won a national championship title in the lightweight

four 4 (four) is a number, numeral and digit. It is the natural number following 3 and preceding 5. It is the smallest semiprime and composite number, and is considered unlucky in many East Asian cultures. In mathematics Four is the smallest c ...

. In 1979, he won a national title in the lightweight

eight 8 is a number, numeral, and glyph. 8 or eight may also refer to: Years * AD 8, the eighth year of the AD era * 8 BC, the eighth year before the AD era Art *The Eight (Ashcan School), a group of twentieth century painters associated with the As ...

. Smith was first selected in South Australian state representative lightweight fours to contest the Penrith Cup at the

from 1970 to 1973. After relocating to Victoria in 1974, he was selected in Victorian representative crews in 1974, 1975, 1977 and 1979. He was in crews that won the interstate championship on five occasions.

National representative rowing

Smith was selected for Australian representative honours in a lightweight coxless four for the

. That crew won Australia's first gold medal at a

FISA The Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978 ("FISA" , ) is a United States federal law that establishes procedures for the physical and electronic surveillance and the collection of "foreign intelligence information" between "foreign pow ...

World Rowing Championship 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 ...

. The following year at Nottingham 1975 that same crew were selected to defend their title. They came third, taking the bronze medal and were the best performing Australian crew at those championships. They became the first Australian crew to win successive medals at any world championships or FISA championships. Smith was also selected in Australia's lightweight four for Amsterdam 1977 and in the lightweight eight at Copenhagen 1978 taking silver and bronze, respectively. He was a selector of the national women's crews for the 1978 World Championships. He was picked for the men's lightweight eight who went to the 1979 World Rowing Championships but withdrew for business reasons.

Coach and administrator

Smith was the coach of Victoria's King's Cup eight in 1981 and coach of Melbourne University coxless fours that placed first and second at the 1981 National Championships. He was a board member of Rowing Australia from 1998 to 2009 and President from 2009 to 2015. He was Chairman of the High Performance Commission from 2001 to 2009 and co-chairman of the National Rowing Centre of Excellence from 2009 to 2015.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Colin Year of birth missing (living people) Living people Australian male rowers World Rowing Championships medalists for Australia Place of birth missing (living people)