Dale Caterson (born 19 July 1961) is an Australian former national champion, World Champion, Olympian and Commonwealth Games gold medal winning rowing

coxswain The coxswain ( , or ) is the person in charge of a boat, particularly its navigation and steering. The etymology of the word gives a literal meaning of "boat servant" since it comes from ''cock'', referring to the cockboat, a type of ship's boat ...

. He is Australia's first World Champion coxswain, having steered the 1986 World Championship men's eight to victory.

Club and state rowing

He was born in

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

and his senior rowing was with the

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 ...

. Caterson was first selected to steer a New South Wales state crew in the 1983 men's Interstate Eight-Oared Championship racing 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 ...

. He again coxed New South Wales King's Cup eights in 1984 (to victory), 1985, 1987, 1990 and 1991. He steered Mosman and composite

coxed four A coxed four, also known as a 4+, is a rowing boat used in the sport of competitive rowing. It is designed for four persons who propel the boat with sweep oars and is steered by a coxswain. The crew consists of four rowers, each having one oa ...

s in national title attempts 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 1983, 1985 (to victory), 1987 and 1988.

International representative rowing

Caterson's first World Championship national representation was in the men's lightweight eight at the

1984 World Rowing Championships The 1984 World Rowing Championships were World Rowing Championships that were held on 26 August 1984 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Since 1984 was an Olympic year for rowing, the World Championships did not include Olympic events scheduled for th ...

in Montreal, a lightweight only regatta being an Olympic year. The following year at Hazewinkel 1985 he coxed the Australian heavyweight men's eight who placed ninth. At the

1986 World Rowing Championships The 1986 World Rowing Championships were World Rowing Championships that were held from 17 to 24 August 1986 at Nottingham in the United Kingdom. Medal summary Looking at the open weight classes only, East Germany was the most successful nation ...

Nottingham Nottingham ( , East Midlands English, locally ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area in Nottinghamshire, East Midlands, England. It is located north-west of London, south-east ...

, England, Caterson steered the Australian men's

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 ...

to a gold medal. It was Australia's first and only World Championship title in the men's heavyweight eight and Caterson became the first coxswain to steer an Australian coxed boat to a world title. That same year at the

1986 Commonwealth Games The 1986 Commonwealth Games ( gd, Geamannan a 'Cho-fhlaitheis 1986) were held in Edinburgh, Scotland, between 24 July and 2 August 1986. They were the second Games to be held in Edinburgh. Thirty two of the eligible fifty nine countries (largel ...

in Edinburgh, that same crew with Caterson in the stern also won gold in the Australian men's eight. Caterson also steered a

to a bronze medal at those same games. At the

1987 World Rowing Championships The 1987 World Rowing Championships were World Rowing Championships that were held from 29 to 30 August 1987 in Copenhagen, Denmark while it was "outrageously windy". Medal summary Medalists at the 1987 World Rowing Championships were: Men's ...

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( or .; da, København ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a proper population of around 815.000 in the last quarter of 2022; and some 1.370,000 in the urban area; and the wider Copenhagen metropolitan ar ...

Caterson coxed the Australian eight to a fourth place and he held his role in the men's eight for the

1988 Summer Olympics The 1988 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XXIV Olympiad () and commonly known as Seoul 1988 ( ko, 서울 1988, Seoul Cheon gubaek palsip-pal), was an international multi-sport event held from 17 September to 2 October ...

in Seoul. That crew placed fifth. He took a break after the Olympics but was back on the water at state and national level in 1990. His final national representative coxing duties were in the Australian men's eight at both the

1990 File:1990 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1990 FIFA World Cup is played in Italy; The Human Genome Project is launched; Voyager I takes the famous Pale Blue Dot image- speaking on the fragility of Humankind, humanity on Earth, Astroph ...

and

1991 World Rowing Championships The 1991 World Rowing Championships were World Rowing Championships that were held from 19 to 25 August 1991 in Vienna, Austria. The regatta was held on the New Danube. Medal summary The finals were raced on Saturday and Sunday, 24 and 25 August ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Caterson, Dale 1961 births Sportsmen from New South Wales Rowers from Sydney Australian male rowers Rowers at the 1988 Summer Olympics Living people World Rowing Championships medalists for Australia Commonwealth Games medallists in rowing Commonwealth Games gold medallists for Australia Coxswains (rowing) Rowers at the 1986 Commonwealth Games Olympic rowers for Australia 20th-century Australian people Medallists at the 1986 Commonwealth Games