Richard Alexander Wearne (born 10 April 1972) is an

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

n-born

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

-based professional

photographer A photographer (the Greek language, Greek φῶς (''phos''), meaning "light", and γραφή (''graphê''), meaning "drawing, writing", together meaning "drawing with light") is a person who makes photographs. Duties and types of photographe ...

. He is a former representative

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 di ...

, an Olympian who won medals at three

World Rowing Championships The World Rowing Championships is an international rowing regatta organized by FISA (the International Rowing Federation). It is a week-long event held at the end of the northern hemisphere summer and in non-Olympic years is the highlight of the ...

Club and state rowing

Wearne was born in

and attended

Newington College , motto_translation = To Faith Add Knowledge , location = Inner West and Lower North Shore of Sydney, New South Wales , country = Australia , coordinates = , pushpin_map = A ...

(1981–1989) where he took up rowing and was coached by Olympian and Old Newingtonian Michael Morgan OAM. His senior club rowing was from the

Sydney Rowing Club Sydney Rowing Club is the oldest rowing club in New South Wales, Australia formed in 1870. It has occupied its current site on Port Jackson's Parramatta River at Abbotsford Point since 1874. The club has a focus on its high performance and elite ...

. After the conclusion of his international competitive career he rowed from London's

Imperial College Boat Club Imperial College Boat Club is the rowing club for Imperial College and has its boat house on the River Thames on the Putney embankment, London, United Kingdom. It was founded in 1919. The alumni also run a boat club which is known as the Queen' ...

in 2003. Wearne first made state selection for New South Wales in the 1992 senior eight which contested the King's Cup at the

Australian Rowing Championships Australian(s) may refer to: Australia * Australia, a country * Australians, citizens of the Commonwealth of Australia ** European Australians ** Anglo-Celtic Australians, Australians descended principally from British colonists ** Aboriginal Aus ...

. He rowed in further New South Wales King's Cup eights in 1993, 1994, 1995 (as stroke) 1996, 1997, 1998 and 2000. It was a particular period of Victorian state dominance with the Victorian eight seated with members of the

Oarsome Foursome The Oarsome Foursome is the nickname for an Australian men's rowing coxless four crew who competed with a clear lineage between 1990 and 2012, winning two Olympic gold medals and one silver medal, two world championships as a coxless four, and ...

and Wearne rowed to five King's Cup second places in New South Wales eights but never a victory.

International representative rowing

Wearne made his Australian representative debut in a coxless pair at the

1994 World Rowing Championships The 1994 World Rowing Championships were World Rowing Championships that were held from 11 to 18 September 1994 at Eagle Creek Park, Indianapolis Indianapolis (), colloquially known as Indy, is the state capital and most populous city of t ...

in Indianapolis rowing with Robert Walker. They rowed to a third placing and a bronze medal.Wearne at World Rowing
/ref> They stayed together into 1995 and continued to be coached by Harald Jahrling. At the

1995 World Rowing Championships File:1995 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: O.J. Simpson is acquitted of the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman from the year prior in "The Trial of the Century" in the United States; The Great Hanshin earthquake strik ...

in Tampere they took silver finishing second behind the formidable British crew of Redgrave and Pinsent. In the 1996 Olympic year, Wearne moved into the stroke seat of the Australian men's eight. At

Atlanta 1996 The 1996 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXVI Olympiad, also known as Atlanta 1996 and commonly referred to as the Centennial Olympic Games) were an international multi-sport event held from July 19 to August 4, 1996, in Atlanta, ...

with Wearne and Walker in the stern end the Australian eight made a sixth-place finish. In 1997 he held his seat at stroke of the eight. As an

Australian Institute of Sport The Australian Institute of Sport (AIS) is a high performance sports training institution in Australia. The Institute's headquarters were opened in 1981 and are situated in the northern suburb of Bruce, Canberra. The AIS is a division of the ...

selection eight they contested and won the 1997

Grand Challenge Cup The Grand Challenge Cup is a rowing competition for men's eights. It is the oldest and best-known event at the annual Henley Royal Regatta on the River Thames at Henley-on-Thames in England. It is open to male crews from all eligible rowing cl ...

at the

Henley Royal Regatta Henley Royal Regatta (or Henley Regatta, its original name pre-dating Royal patronage) is a rowing event held annually on the River Thames by the town of Henley-on-Thames, England. It was established on 26 March 1839. It differs from the thre ...

. The 1997 Australian eight then raced at two World Rowing Cups in Europe before contesting the

1997 World Rowing Championships The 1997 World Rowing Championships were World Rowing Championships that were held from 31 August to 7 September 1997 at Lac d'Aiguebelette, France. The annual week-long rowing regatta was organized by FISA (the International Rowing Federation), ...

in Aiguebelette where they took a bronze medal. In 1998 he again stroked the Australian men's eight and at the

1998 World Rowing Championships The 1998 World Rowing Championships were World Rowing Championships that were held from 9 to 18 September 1998 in Cologne, Germany. The World Rowing Championships are organized by FISA, the International Rowing Federation. Medal summary Men's e ...

in Cologne they raced to a six placed finish. Wearne retired from international competitive rowing at the conclusion of that campaign.Australian Olympic Committee
/ref>

Photographer

Wearne is a self-employed photographer in Sydney.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wearne, Richard 1972 births Living people Australian male rowers Olympic rowers of Australia Rowers at the 1996 Summer Olympics People educated at Newington College World Rowing Championships medalists for Australia