Neil William Campbell, CM (September 3, 1930 in

Buffalo, New York Buffalo is the second-largest city in the U.S. state of New York (behind only New York City) and the seat of Erie County. It is at the eastern end of Lake Erie, at the head of the Niagara River, and is across the Canadian border from Sou ...

– August 11, 2006) was a

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

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 ...

. Born in Buffalo, his parents moved to St. Catharines,

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central C ...

, when Campbell was around one year old. He started his rowing career with the St. Catharines Rowing Club in 1952, as a heavyweight oarsman. He competed in the Coxless Four at the 1964 Summer Olympics, and the Eight at 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 ...

. In 1967 he became head Rowing coach at

Ridley College Ridley College (also known as RC, Ridley) is a private boarding and day university-preparatory school located in St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada, 20 miles (32 km) from Niagara Falls. The school confers the Ontario Secondary School Diploma ...

, St. Catharines,

, a position he held until 1987. Under his mentoring Ridley eights won 14

Canadian Secondary School Rowing Association The Canadian Secondary School Rowing Association (CSSRA) is an organization which governs high school rowing in Canada. The CSSRA has hosted the main high school rowing event, known as the CSSRA Championships (also known as "Schoolboy") since 1945. ...

(formerly Canadian Schoolboy) Championships, as well as five American Schoolboy titles and seven Championships at the English Henley Royal Regatta. In 1985, Campbell coached the

University of Cambridge The University of Cambridge is a public collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209 and granted a royal charter by Henry III in 1231, Cambridge is the world's third oldest surviving university and one of its most pr ...

's rowing team in preparation for its annual

University Boat Race The Boat Race is an annual set of rowing races between the Cambridge University Boat Club and the Oxford University Boat Club, traditionally rowed between open-weight eights on the River Thames in London, England. There are separate men's a ...

against the

University of Oxford , mottoeng = The Lord is my light , established = , endowment = £6.1 billion (including colleges) (2019) , budget = £2.145 billion (2019–20) , chancellor ...

. Campbell led the 1984 Canadian men's heavyweight crew to a 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 ...

in Los Angeles. His crew later presented him with a replica gold medal. In 2017, the St. Catharines Rowing Club christened a new boat in Campbell's honour. On August 5, 2019, during the opening ceremony of the 137th

Royal Canadian Henley Regatta The Royal Canadian Henley Regatta started in 1880 as the first championship for the newly formed Canadian Amateur Rowing Association. History It changed venues often until 1903, when it was decided to hold it at St. Catharines Port Dalhousie's M ...

, Campbell was inducted into the Canadian Rowing Hall of Fame.

Honours

* 1981,

Order of Canada The Order of Canada (french: Ordre du Canada; abbreviated as OC) is a Canadian state order and the second-highest honour for merit in the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, after the Order of Merit. To coincide with the cen ...

* 1987,

Canadian Olympic Hall of Fame The Canadian Olympic Hall of Fame is an honour roll of the top Canadian Olympic athletes, teams, coaches, and builders (officials, administrators, and volunteers). It was established in 1949. Selections are made by a committee appointed by the Cana ...

* 2019, Canadian Rowing Hall of Fame

References

1931 births 2006 deaths American emigrants to Canada Canadian male rowers Canadian people of Scottish descent Canadian sports coaches Members of the Order of Canada Olympic rowers for Canada People with acquired Canadian citizenship Rowers at the 1964 Summer Olympics Rowers at the 1968 Summer Olympics Rowing coaches Rowers from St. Catharines Rowers from Buffalo, New York {{Canada-rowing-bio-stub