Saint George Ashe (23 May 1871 – 24 July 1922) was a British

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 ...

who competed in

Rowing at the 1900 Summer Olympics At the 1900 Summer Olympics in Paris, four events in rowing were contested, marking the introduction of the sport to the Olympic program. At the inaugural 1896 Games, the rowing competition was cancelled due to strong winds. The 1900 regatta w ...

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...

winning the bronze medal in the

single scull A single scull (or a scull) is a rowing boat designed for a single person who propels the boat with two oars, one in each hand. Racing boats (often called "shells") are long, narrow, and broadly semi-circular in cross-section in order to mini ...

s, and won the

Wingfield Sculls The Wingfield Sculls is a rowing race held annually on the River Thames in London, England, on the Championship Course from Putney to Mortlake. The race is between single scullers and is usually on the Saturday three to four weeks before the S ...

in 1904. Ashe was born in

Malta Malta ( , , ), officially the Republic of Malta ( mt, Repubblika ta' Malta ), is an island country in the Mediterranean Sea. It consists of an archipelago, between Italy and Libya, and is often considered a part of Southern Europe. It lies ...

. He was a member of

Thames Rowing Club The Thames Rowing Club (TRC) is a rowing club based on the tidal Thames as it flows through the western suburbs of London. The TRC clubhouse stands on Putney Embankment. The club was founded in 1860. As at July 2022, Thames had won events at H ...

and in 1900 was the only rower to represent Britain at the 1900 Summer Olympics held in

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

, in his first round heat, Ashe was disqualified after rowing into Raymond-Benoît and capsizing him, due to no one finishing the full course the judges decided to re-run the race, this time Ashe won by seven seconds. In the final he was third in single sculls behind Hermann Barrelet and André Gaudin but was lucky as he was in fourth place until Louis Prével fell overboard. He entered the

Diamond Challenge Sculls The Diamond Challenge Sculls is a rowing event for men's single sculls at the annual Henley Royal Regatta on the River Thames at Henley-on-Thames in England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders w ...

at Henley Royal Regatta seven times and was runner up in 1901 to C V Fox. He won the

in 1904 beating

Arthur Cloutte Arthur Hamilton Cloutte (born 1871) was an English rower who won the Wingfield Sculls, the amateur single sculling championship of the River Thames, in 1902 Cloutte was born at Turnham Green in west London, the son of Arthur Cloutte and his wife ...

, and was runner-up in 1905 and 1906 to

Harry Blackstaffe Henry Thomas "Harry" Blackstaffe (28 July 1868 – 22 August 1951) was a British rower who competed in the 1908 Summer Olympics. Blackstaffe was born in Islington, London, and became a butcher. He was a long-standing member of Vesta Rowing ...

. In 1898 Ashe had attempted to row across the

English Channel The English Channel, "The Sleeve"; nrf, la Maunche, "The Sleeve" (Cotentinais) or ( Jèrriais), (Guernésiais), "The Channel"; br, Mor Breizh, "Sea of Brittany"; cy, Môr Udd, "Lord's Sea"; kw, Mor Bretannek, "British Sea"; nl, Het Kana ...

, but the weather was unfavorable and after about three miles he started to take in water and was rescued by a tug that was accompanying him. Ashe died aged 51 years old in St Leonards-on-Sea, the verdict of his death was ''"suicide during temporary insanity"'', he was found dead in a house near some gas taps that were switched on.

References

* Buchanan, Ian ''British Olympians''. Guinness Publishing (1991) * Page, Geoffrey Page ''Thames Rowing Hear the Boat Sing The history of Thames Rowing Club and Tideway Rowing'' Kingswood Press (1991)

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Ashe, Saint-George 1871 births 1922 suicides 1922 deaths British male rowers Olympic bronze medallists for Great Britain Olympic rowers for Great Britain Rowers at the 1900 Summer Olympics Olympic medalists in rowing Medalists at the 1900 Summer Olympics Suicides by gas Suicides in England