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

coxswain The coxswain ( , or ) is the person in charge of a boat, particularly its navigation and steering. The etymology of the word gives a literal meaning of "boat servant" since it comes from ''cock'', referring to the cockboat, a type of ship's boa ...

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 i ...

rowing Rowing is the act of propelling a human-powered watercraft using the sweeping motions of oars to displace water and generate reactional propulsion. Rowing is functionally similar to paddling, but rowing requires oars to be mechanically ...

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 P ...

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, rowing for a Tideway Scullers 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 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 significantl ...

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 Champio ...

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 Democrat ...

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 and Andy Holmes in the coxed pairs. This crew then won an Olympic bronze medal at the 1988 Summer Olympics in the 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 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 Steve Redgrave and Andy Holmes) * 1976 – Silver, eight

World Championships

* 1987 – Silver, coxed pair (with Steve Redgrave and Andy Holmes) * 1986 – Gold, coxed pairs (with Steve Redgrave and Andy Holmes) * 1977 – Gold, men's lightweight eight * 1974 – Silver men's eight

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Sweeney, Patrick 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