Samuel Patten (born 23 May 1963) is a former Australian World Champion rower and Olympic medallist. His professional career has been as an orthopaedic surgeon specialising in hip and knee surgery and based in

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

. From 1990 to 1991 he was a member of Australia's prominent world class crew – the

coxless four A coxless four is a rowing boat used in the sport of competitive rowing. It is designed for four persons who propel the boat with sweep oars, without a coxswain. The crew consists of four rowers, each having one oar. There are two rowers on th ...

known as 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 ...

Club and state rowing career

The son of Olympic alpine skier and noted architect, Barry Patten, Samuel Patten took up rowing at Scotch College, Melbourne. His senior club rowing was with the

Mercantile Rowing Club The Mercantile Rowing Club is based in Melbourne, Australia on the Yarra River. It was founded in 1880 and has occupied its current site since 1885. More than 40 Mercantillians have represented Australia at Olympic Games. Club history A group o ...

in Melbourne. Patten was selected in Victorian state representative King's Cup crews contesting the men's Interstate Eight-Oared Championship at the Australian Rowing Championships in 1983, 1984, 1987, 1988, 1989 & 1990. He saw victories in 1987–88 and 1989–90. He was selected in the 1992 King's Cup eight but withdrew due to injury.

International representative rowing

World Championships

Patten's first Australian selection was in the

coxed four A coxed four, also known as a 4+, is a rowing boat used in the sport of competitive rowing. It is designed for four persons who propel the boat with sweep oars and is steered by a coxswain. The crew consists of four rowers, each having one oa ...

who placed fourth at the 1981 World Junior Championships. Two years later he was a member of the Australian men's senior

eight 8 is a number, numeral, and glyph. 8 or eight may also refer to: Years * AD 8, the eighth year of the AD era * 8 BC, the eighth year before the AD era Art *The Eight (Ashcan School), a group of twentieth century painters associated with the As ...

who won a bronze medal at the

1983 World Rowing Championships The 1983 World Rowing Championships were World Rowing Championships that were held from 3 to 4 September 1983 at Wedau in Duisburg, West Germany. Medal summary Men's events Women's events Medals table Seventeen nations won medals of th ...

Duisburg Duisburg () is a city in the Ruhr metropolitan area of the western German state of North Rhine-Westphalia. Lying on the confluence of the Rhine and the Ruhr rivers in the center of the Rhine-Ruhr Region, Duisburg is the 5th largest city in Nor ...

, Germany. Patten won a World Championship in first incarnation of Australia's

at the

1990 World Rowing Championships Year 199 ( CXCIX) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was sometimes known as year 952 ''Ab urbe condita''. The denomination 199 for this year has been used since the ...

in Lake Barrington,

Tasmania ) , nickname = , image_map = Tasmania in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Tasmania in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdi ...

. He was seated at three, with Nick Green (bow), Mike McKay (two) and James Tomkins (stroke), and achieved his first and only world championship gold medal.

Olympics

Patten first Australian Olympic representative selection was the men's eight who took the bronze medal at

Los Angeles 1984 The 1984 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXIII Olympiad and also known as Los Angeles 1984) were an international multi-sport event held from July 28 to August 12, 1984, in Los Angeles, California, United States. It marked the secon ...

Olympics. At the Olympic games in

Seoul 1988 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 ...

Patten and Malcolm Batten were selected in the squad as reserves for the eight and qualified a

coxless pair A coxless pair is a rowing boat used in the sport of competitive rowing. It is designed for two rowers, who propel the boat with sweep oars. The crew consists of a pair of rowers, each having one oar, one on the stroke side (rower's right h ...

. They raced in heats and were eliminated in the repechage. Patten's last Australian representative selection was in the men's eight at the 1992 Barcelona Olympic Games. That crew placed fifth.

Selector/administrator

From 1993 to 1996 Patten was a selector for Victorian states crews. In those same years he was on the

Australian Olympic Committee 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 ...

's Athletes Commission. From 1996 to 1997 he was a board member of Rowing Australia.

Surgical career

Graduating from

Monash University Monash University () is a public research university based in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Named for prominent World War I general Sir John Monash, it was founded in 1958 and is the second oldest university in the state. The university has a ...

with a degree in medicine, Patten gained a Fellowship from the Royal Australian College of Surgeons in 2002 and went on to work as a Senior Joint Replacement Fellow at the prestigious Nuffield Orthopaedic Centre in Oxford, England, and Consultant Trauma Surgeon at the John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford and

Oxford University Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

in 2004. Patten specialises in injuries and arthritis of the hip and knee: Anterior Minimally Invasive Surgery (AMIS) for total hip replacement, conventional total hip replacement, revision hip replacement, hip arthroscopy, total knee replacement, revision knee replacement, knee arthroscopy, reconstructive surgery of the knee (ACL), knee osteotomy, post-trauma reconstruction of the pelvis and lower limb.Melbourne Orthopaedics
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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Patten, Sam 1963 births Living people Australian male rowers Rowers at the 1984 Summer Olympics Rowers at the 1988 Summer Olympics Rowers at the 1992 Summer Olympics Olympic bronze medalists for Australia Olympic medalists in rowing World Rowing Championships medalists for Australia Medalists at the 1984 Summer Olympics Monash University alumni People educated at Scotch College, Melbourne Alumni of the University of Oxford 20th-century Australian people Rowers from Melbourne Sportsmen from Victoria (Australia)