Robert Walker (born 30 December 1973) is a former Australian rower. He is an Olympian and a medalist at World Rowing Championships.

State and club rowing

Walker first made state selection for New South Wales in the 1992 youth eight which contested and won the Noel Wilkinson Trophy 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 ...

. In 1994 he was selected in the New South Wales senior eight contesting the King's Cup at the Interstate Regatta. He rowed in further New South Wales King's Cup eights crew in 1995, 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 Walker rowed to five King's Cup second places in New South Wales eights but never a victory.1998 Interstate Regatta
/ref>

International representative rowing

Walker 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

Richard Wearne Richard Alexander Wearne (born 10 April 1972) is an Australian-born Sydney-based professional photographer. He is a former representative rower, an Olympian who won medals at three World Rowing Championships. Club and state rowing Wearne was bo ...

. They rowed to a third placing and a bronze medal.Walker 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, Walker moved into the seven 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 Walker and Wearne in the stern end, the Australian eight made a sixth place finish. In 1997 Walker moved into the bow seat of the eight. He raced in the eight at two World Rowing Cups in Europe that year and then 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 ...

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 ...

crew 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 ...

. The eight then raced at 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.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Walker, Robert 1973 births Living people Australian male rowers Olympic rowers of Australia Rowers at the 1996 Summer Olympics World Rowing Championships medalists for Australia