Gary Malcolm Pearce (born 27 February 1944) is an Australian former rower. He was a national champion and a three-time Olympian who competed at the

1964 Summer Olympics The , officially the and commonly known as Tokyo 1964 ( ja, 東京1964), were an international multi-sport event held from 10 to 24 October 1964 in Tokyo, Japan. Tokyo had been awarded the organization of the 1940 Summer Olympics, but this ho ...

, 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 ...

and 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. ...

Early life and sporting pedigree

He was born in

Leichhardt, New South Wales Leichhardt is a suburb in the Inner West of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Leichhardt is located 5 kilometres west of the Sydney central business district (CBD) and is the administrative centre for the local government are ...

into a famous Australian rowing family. Gary's father Cecil Pearce had sculled for Australia at the 1936 Berlin Olympics, and his great-grandfather Henry John "Harry" Pearce, Sr. was an Australian champion in sculling. Cecil's uncle Henry J "Harry, Jr" Pearce Jr., was also an Australian sculling champion and challenged for the world championship twice (in 1911 and 1913) and Harry Jr's son (Gary's second cousin) was Bobby Pearce, the dual Olympic gold medal winner and one of Australia's all-time greatest scullers. Gary's own grandfather Sandy Pearce was an Australian national rugby league representative as was his son

Sid Pearce :''Sid Pearce directs here, for his son, the rugby league footballer of the same name, see Joe Pearce'' Sidney Charles Pearce (born 30 May 1883 and died 14 November 1930 Double Bay, New South Wales), better known as Sandy, was a pioneer Austral ...

(Gary's uncle).

Career

Pearce's senior rowing was with the

Balmain Rowing Club Balmain Rowing Club is the fourth oldest rowing club in continuous operation on Sydney Harbour, Australia, and was established in July 1882 at Balmain, Sydney. It has occupied its current site at the bottom of White St, Balmain since the club's ...

in Sydney. In 1964 he partnered up with Barclay Wade of the Mosman Rowing Club in a composite double and won the national title in the men's double scull at the second ever Australian Rowing Championships. This was a selection regatta for the Tokyo Olympics and Wade and Pearce were selected as the Olympic representative double. In Tokyo they finished 13th in the double sculls event.http://www.rowinghistory-aus.info/olympic-games/1964-Tokyo.php Guerin-Foster History of Australian Rowing In 1968, by now rowing from the Sydney Rowing Club he was selected in the two seat of the Australian eight which rowed to a silver medal in the eights competition at the Mexico Olympics. In 1972 he was again in the Australian eight and that crew finished eighth in its event at the

Munich 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. ...

Footnotes

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Pearce, Gary 1944 births Living people Australian male rowers Olympic rowers for Australia Rowers at the 1964 Summer Olympics Rowers at the 1968 Summer Olympics Rowers at the 1972 Summer Olympics Olympic silver medalists for Australia Olympic medalists in rowing Medalists at the 1968 Summer Olympics Rowers from Sydney Sportsmen from New South Wales