Patrick John Sweeney (born 12 August 1952) is a retired coxswain for

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It is ...

's rowing team. Sweeney competed at 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. ...

1976 Summer Olympics Events January * January 3 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force. * January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea. * January 11 – The 1976 Phi ...

and the

1988 Summer Olympics The 1988 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XXIV Olympiad () and commonly known as Seoul 1988 ( ko, 서울 1988, Seoul Cheon gubaek palsip-pal), was an international multi-sport event held from 17 September to 2 October ...

Rowing career

Sweeney won the coxed fours with Christopher Pierce, Hugh Matheson, Dick Findlay and

Alan Almand Alan Almand (born 19 March 1943), also known as Willy Almand, is a retired British rower. He competed at the 1972 Summer Olympics. Rowing career Almand won the coxed fours with Christopher Pierce, Hugh Matheson, Dick Findlay and Patrick Swe ...

, rowing for a

Tideway Scullers Tideway Scullers School is a rowing (sport), rowing club on the Tideway of the River Thames next to Chiswick Bridge in Chiswick, London. The club previously held the headship for the Head of the River Race (2009), the largest UK eights event, a ...

and

Leander Leander is one of the protagonists in the story of Hero and Leander in Greek mythology. Leander may also refer to: People * Leander (given name) * Leander (surname) Places * Leander, Kentucky, United States, an unincorporated community * Le ...

composite, at the inaugural 1972 National Rowing Championships. The winning crew were then selected to represent Great Britain at the 1972 Olympics,

Rooney Massara Rooney William John Massara (born 22 January 1943 in Sutton, Surrey) is a retired British rower who competed at the 1972 Summer Olympics and a sailor. Rowing career Massara was part of the winning eights crew, rowing for a Tideway Scullers and ...

replaced Findlay in the men's coxed four event where the crew finished in tenth place after being knocked out in the semi finals. At the

1974 World Rowing Championships The 1974 World Rowing Championships was the fourth World Rowing Championships. It was held from 4 to 8 September 1974 (for men) and from 29 August to 1 September 1974 (for women) on the Rotsee in Lucerne, Switzerland. The event was significantly ...

he coxed the eight to silver, a feat that was repeated at the 1976 Olympics when Sweeney coxed the eight during the 1976 Olympic rowing event. In between he was part of the coxed four at the

1975 World Rowing Championships The 1975 World Rowing Championships was the fifth World Rowing Championships. It was held from 21 to 30 August at Holme Pierrepont National Watersports Centre in Nottingham, England. Medal summary Medalists at the 1975 World Rowing Champions ...

in Nottingham, the four just missed out on a medal finishing in fourth place in the A final. In 1977 he won his first gold medal at the

1977 Events January * January 8 – Three bombs explode in Moscow within 37 minutes, killing seven. The bombings are attributed to an Armenian separatist group. * January 10 – Mount Nyiragongo erupts in eastern Zaire (now the Democratic R ...

and another gold medal was secured during the

1986 World Rowing Championships The 1986 World Rowing Championships were World Rowing Championships that were held from 17 to 24 August 1986 at Nottingham in the United Kingdom. Medal summary Looking at the open weight classes only, East Germany was the most successful nation ...

when he coxed

Steve Redgrave Sir Steven Geoffrey Redgrave (born 23 March 1962) is a British retired rower who won gold medals at five consecutive Olympic Games from 1984 to 2000. He has also won three Commonwealth Games gold medals and nine World Rowing Championships golds ...

and

Andy Holmes Andrew John Holmes (15 October 1959 – 24 October 2010)men's coxed pair.

Coaching

Sweeney is also a rowing coach. He has coached on the British National Team at World Championships and Olympics. Also at the Burnaby Lake Aquatic Center in

Burnaby Burnaby is a city in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia, Canada. Located in the centre of the Burrard Peninsula, it neighbours the City of Vancouver to the west, the District of North Vancouver across the confluence of the Burrard I ...

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...

, Canada. He has served as head coach and director of training for the Belgian National Rowing team. In addition, he has coached several United States collegiate women's teams and has won four national collegiate titles. Sweeney currently coaches the

Kansas State University Kansas State University (KSU, Kansas State, or K-State) is a public land-grant research university with its main campus in Manhattan, Kansas, United States. It was opened as the state's land-grant college in 1863 and was the first public instit ...

women's team.

Achievements

Olympic Olympic or Olympics may refer to Sports Competitions * Olympic Games, international multi-sport event held since 1896 ** Summer Olympic Games ** Winter Olympic Games * Ancient Olympic Games, ancient multi-sport event held in Olympia, Greece b ...

medals: 1 silver, 1 bronze *

World Championship 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, ...

medals: 2 gold, 2 silver

Olympic Games

* 1988 – Bronze, coxed pair (with

and

Andy Holmes Andrew John Holmes (15 October 1959 – 24 October 2010)Steve Redgrave Sir Steven Geoffrey Redgrave (born 23 March 1962) is a British retired rower who won gold medals at five consecutive Olympic Games from 1984 to 2000. He has also won three Commonwealth Games gold medals and nine World Rowing Championships golds ...

and

Andy Holmes Andrew John Holmes (15 October 1959 – 24 October 2010)1952 births Living people British male rowers Coxswains (rowing) Kansas State Wildcats rowing coaches Rowers at the 1976 Summer Olympics Rowers at the 1988 Summer Olympics Olympic rowers of Great Britain Olympic silver medallists for Great Britain Olympic bronze medallists for Great Britain Olympic medalists in rowing World Rowing Championships medalists for Great Britain Medalists at the 1988 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 1976 Summer Olympics Rowers at the 1972 Summer Olympics