Keith Charles Trask (born 27 November 1960) is a former New Zealand

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 ...

who won an Olympic gold medal at the

1984 Summer Olympics The 1984 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXIII Olympiad and also known as Los Angeles 1984) were an international multi-sport event held from July 28 to August 12, 1984, in Los Angeles, California, United States. It marked the sec ...

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...

Early life

Trask was born in 1960 in

Hastings Hastings () is a large seaside town and borough in East Sussex on the south coast of England, east to the county town of Lewes and south east of London. The town gives its name to the Battle of Hastings, which took place to the north-west ...

, New Zealand. Trask has a twin brother Paul. Their parents are Charles (died 2015) and Maureen Trask. They received their education in

; first at Mayfair School and then at Hastings Intermediate.

Rowing career

Trask was selected to compete at the 1980 Summer Olympics in

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 millio ...

with the coxed four but did not compete due to the Olympics boycott. He believes that he missed out being selected for the New Zealand eight in 1982 despite being "good enough to be there"; the team went on to win gold at the 1982 World Rowing Championships at

Rotsee __NOTOC__ The Rotsee (previously known as Rootsee) is a natural rowing lake on the northern edge of Lucerne, Switzerland. It is regarded as one of the best rowing venues in the world. Description and location The lake and its surrounding area is ...

in Switzerland without him. In 1983, he moved from the

Hawke's Bay Hawke's Bay ( mi, Te Matau-a-Māui) is a local government region on the east coast of New Zealand's North Island. The region's name derives from Hawke Bay, which was named by Captain James Cook in honour of Admiral Edward Hawke. The region i ...

Auckland Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The most populous urban area in the country and the fifth largest city in Oceania, Auckland has an urban population of about ...

so that he could join the North Shore Rowing Club to increase his chances to get picked for a national team. In 1983 the crew of Conrad Robertson, Greg Johnston, Keith Trask,

Les O'Connell Leslie James O'Connell (born 23 May 1958) is a New Zealand former representative rower. He was a two-time world champion and an Olympic champion who won his Olympic gold medal at the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles in the men's coxless four ...

, and

Brett Hollister Brett James Hollister (born 19 May 1966) is a former New Zealand rowing cox who won an Olympic bronze medal at the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles. Since 2004, he had held management positions for rugby union and is the current chief execu ...

(cox) won the coxed four in

Duisburg Duisburg () is a city in the Ruhr metropolitan area of the western German state of North Rhine-Westphalia. Lying on the confluence of the Rhine and the Ruhr rivers in the center of the Rhine-Ruhr Region, Duisburg is the 5th largest city in No ...

at the

World Championships 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, ...

. Along with Les O'Connell, Shane O'Brien and Conrad Robertson he won gold in the

coxless four A coxless four is a rowing boat used in the sport of competitive rowing. It is designed for four persons who propel the boat with sweep oars, without a coxswain. The crew consists of four rowers, each having one oar. There are two rowers on t ...

at the 1984 Olympics at

Lake Casitas Lake Casitas is a reservoir in Ventura County, California, built by the United States Bureau of Reclamation and completed in 1959. The project provides drinking water and water for irrigation. A secondary benefit is flood control. It was the ven ...

in California. In 1986, Trask teamed with Eric Verdonk for the pairs and became New Zealand national champion. He later was a rowing coach for the North Shore Rowing Club, and currently coaches at

Westlake Boys High School Westlake Boys High School is a state secondary school for boys located in Forrest Hill, Auckland, New Zealand. The school opened in 1962, when Westlake High School (opened 1958) split into Westlake Girls High School on the existing site and We ...

Family and later activities

Trask is married to Serena, and they have three children (one son and two daughters) born between 1984 and 1987. They live in

, where Trask works as a carpenter. He became self employed in 1999 when he founded his company, Keith Trask Limited. In 2009, he competed in ocean swimming.

References

External links

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Team photo
of the 1984 coxless four {{DEFAULTSORT:Trask, Keith 1960 births Living people People educated at Karamu High School New Zealand male rowers Olympic gold medalists for New Zealand in rowing Medalists at the 1984 Summer Olympics Rowers at the 1984 Summer Olympics World Rowing Championships medalists for New Zealand