Donald Herbert Louis Gollan (19 January 1896 – 13 August 1971) was a

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

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 di ...

who competed in the

1928 Summer Olympics The 1928 Summer Olympics ( nl, Olympische Zomerspelen 1928), officially known as the Games of the IX Olympiad ( nl, Spelen van de IXe Olympiade) and commonly known as Amsterdam 1928, was an international multi-sport event that was celebrated from ...

, winning silver. He was partially deaf and communicated using

British Sign Language British Sign Language (BSL) is a sign language used in the United Kingdom (UK), and is the first or preferred language among the Deaf community in the UK. Based on the percentage of people who reported 'using British Sign Language at home' on ...

Sport career

Gollan was born in

Paddington Paddington is an area within the City of Westminster, in Central London. First a medieval parish then a metropolitan borough, it was integrated with Westminster and Greater London in 1965. Three important landmarks of the district are Paddi ...

, London, the son of

Spencer Gollan Spencer Herbert Gollan (22 January 1860 – 27 January 1934) was a sportsman who excelled in rowing and golf, and who was also a race horse owner. Gollan was born at Napier in the Colony of New Zealand, the son of Donald Gollan, an engineer and ...

, a racehorse owner and keen sportsman from New Zealand. He started his sport career as a competitive swimmer, encouraged by his father. He was a member of both

Thames Rowing Club The Thames Rowing Club (TRC) is a rowing club based on the tidal Thames as it flows through the western suburbs of London. The TRC clubhouse stands on Putney Embankment. The club was founded in 1860. As at July 2022, Thames had won events at He ...

and

Vesta Rowing Club Vesta Rowing Club is a rowing club based on the Tideway of the River Thames in Putney, London, England. It was founded in 1870. Vesta organises two head races every year; the Scullers Head and the Veterans Head. History Foundation Vesta Rowing ...

. He was initially a

single scull A single scull (or a scull) is a rowing boat designed for a single person who propels the boat with two oars, one in each hand. Racing boats (often called "shells") are long, narrow, and broadly semi-circular in cross-section in order to minimi ...

er and first entered the

Wingfield Sculls The Wingfield Sculls is a rowing race held annually on the River Thames in London, England, on the Championship Course from Putney to Mortlake. The race is between single scullers and is usually on the Saturday three to four weeks before the Sc ...

in 1914. He was probably excused from war service owing to his disability. In 1920 Gollan was runner up to

Jack Beresford Jack Beresford, CBE (1 January 1899 – 3 December 1977), born Jack Beresford-Wiszniewski, was a British rower who won five medals at five Olympic Games in succession. This record in Olympic rowing was not matched until 2000 when Sir Steve Red ...

in the

Diamond Challenge Sculls The Diamond Challenge Sculls is a rowing event for men's single sculls at the annual Henley Royal Regatta on the River Thames at Henley-on-Thames in England. First run in 1844, it is open to male scullers from all eligible rowing clubs.

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 ...

and in the Wingfield Sculls. From 1920 he was Beresford's toughest competitor in the Wingfield Sculls which in 1921 were decided on a foul after Beresford's boat was holed in a clash with Gollan. Both scullers were being steered by their fathers and so in 1922 it was decided that fathers of competitors should not act as pilots or steer the cutters. Gollan was again runner up to Beresford in that year. In 1923 Gollan won the London Cup at the

Metropolitan Regatta The Metropolitan Regatta is an international rowing (sport), rowing regatta. It takes place on Dorney Lake, Buckinghamshire near Eton, Berkshire, Eton next to the River Thames in southern England. It attracts crews from schools, clubs, and unive ...

but was runner up in the Diamonds to M K Morris, and to Beresford in the Wingfield Sculls. In 1925 he was again runner-up to Beresford at Henley. In 1927 and 1928 Gollan was a member of the Thames

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 ...

which won the

Grand Challenge Cup The Grand Challenge Cup is a rowing competition for men's eights. It is the oldest and best-known event at the annual Henley Royal Regatta on the River Thames at Henley-on-Thames in England. It is open to male crews from all eligible rowing cl ...

at Henley. The crew then represented Great Britain

rowing at the 1928 Summer Olympics Rowing at the 1928 Summer Olympics featured seven events, for men only. The competitions were held from 2 to 10 August. Medal summary Participating nations A total of 244 rowers from 19 nations competed at the Amsterdam Games: * * * * * ...

and won the silver medal. Sports Reference Olympic Sports – Donald Gollan
Gollan died at Worthing, West Sussex, at the age of 75.

References

External links

Profile
1896 births 1971 deaths English male rowers British male rowers Olympic rowers of Great Britain Rowers at the 1928 Summer Olympics Olympic silver medallists for Great Britain Olympic medalists in rowing Medalists at the 1928 Summer Olympics BSL users English deaf people {{UK-Olympic-medalist-stub

Sport career

See also

References

External links