John Michael Beresford (born 1934) is a British retired

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 competed at the

1960 Summer Olympics The 1960 Summer Olympics ( it, Giochi Olimpici estivi del 1960), officially known as the Games of the XVII Olympiad ( it, Giochi della XVII Olimpiade) and commonly known as Rome 1960 ( it, Roma 1960), were an international multi-sport event held ...

Biography

Born in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

on 23 March 1934, Beresford was educated at Bedford School. He rowed internationally for seven years in coxed and coxless four and the men's eight. He won a European silver medal, a Commonwealth gold medal and was placed fifth 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 ...

in the

1960 Rome Olympics The 1960 Summer Olympics ( it, Giochi Olimpici estivi del 1960), officially known as the Games of the XVII Olympiad ( it, Giochi della XVII Olimpiade) and commonly known as Rome 1960 ( it, Roma 1960), were an international multi-sport event held ...

. He held Olympic and European records in the coxless four and a

Commonwealth Games The Commonwealth Games, often referred to as the Friendly Games or simply the Comm Games, are a quadrennial international multi-sport event among athletes from the Commonwealth of Nations. The event was first held in 1930, and, with the exce ...

record which stood for 28 years. He rowed at Henley Royal Regatta over a period of 13 years, being finalist in the Thames Cup, Stewards Cup, the Goblets and Grand Challenge Cup, winning the Grand once, and the Stewards twice. He represented

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

and won a gold medal in the coxed four at the 1958 British Empire and Commonwealth Games in

Cardiff Cardiff (; cy, Caerdydd ) is the capital and largest city of Wales. It forms a principal area, officially known as the City and County of Cardiff ( cy, Dinas a Sir Caerdydd, links=no), and the city is the eleventh-largest in the United Kingd ...

, Wales. He is the nephew of Jack Beresford and the grandson of

Julius Beresford Julius Beresford (Wiszniewski) (18 July 1868 – 29 September 1959), also known as Berry or The Old Berry, was a British rower and coach. Beresford competed at the 1912 Summer Olympics in Stockholm, Sweden. Life Beresford was the son of Juliu ...

. Both were Olympic rowers.

References

1934 births English male rowers British male rowers Olympic rowers for Great Britain Rowers at the 1960 Summer Olympics Living people Rowers from Greater London People educated at Bedford School Commonwealth Games medallists in rowing Commonwealth Games gold medallists for England Rowers at the 1958 British Empire and Commonwealth Games European Rowing Championships medalists Medallists at the 1958 British Empire and Commonwealth Games {{England-rowing-bio-stub