Stuart Thomas Welch (born 15 November 1977) is an Australian former representative rower who won medals at his two Olympic games appearances.

Club and state rowing

Born in Sydney, Welch was educated at

Sydney Grammar School (Praise be to God) , established = , type = Independent, day school , gender = Boys , religious_affiliation = None , slogan = , headmaster = R. B. Malpass , founder = Laurence Hynes Halloran , chairman = ...

where he took up rowing. His senior club rowing was from the

UTS Haberfield Rowing Club UTS Haberfield Rowing Club in Sydney was formed as Haberfield Rowing Club in 1925. It has occupied its current site on Port Jackson's, Iron Cove at Dobroyd Point since 1926. The club had a senior and lightweight Sydney premiership & national com ...

on Sydney's

Iron Cove Iron Cove is a bay on the Parramatta River, in the Inner West (Sydney), inner-west of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. It is approximately due west of Sydney central business district, Sydney's central business district. It i ...

. New South Wales state representation first came for Welch in the 1996 youth eight who contested and won the Noel Wilkinson Trophy at the Interstate Regatta within 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 again in the New South Wales youth eight in 1997. In 1999 he was selected in the New South Wales men's eight to race for the King's Cup at the Interstate Regatta.

International representative rowing

Welch made his Australian representative debut still aged sixteen in the men's U23 eight who raced at the 1995

World Rowing U23 Championships World Rowing U23 Championships is an international rowing regatta organized by FISA The Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978 ("FISA" , ) is a United States federal law that establishes procedures for the physical and electronic sur ...

in Groningen. That eight finished in eighth place. In 1997 he was selected in an U23 coxless four who competed at the World Rowing Cup III in Lucerne before racing at the 1997

in Milan to a silver medal. Welch stroked that four. In 1998 Welch was still young enough to contest U23 World Championships and at Ionnina in Greece he rowed in the U23 eight who won the championship and a gold medal. In 2000 Welch was elevated to the Australian senior representative squad and into the Australian eight. Welch raced in the eight at two Rowing World Cups in the lead up campaign as well as 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 ...

where they raced 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 ...

eight and won that year's

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

Sydney 2000 The 2000 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXVII Olympiad and also known as Sydney 2000 (Dharug: ''Gadigal 2000''), the Millennium Olympic Games or the Games of the New Millennium, was an international multi-sport event held from 1 ...

with Welch in the six seat, the Australian eight won their heat in a pace that blew away the eventual gold medallists Great Britain. However in the final they started slowly and their late sprint home left them 0.8 seconds behind the Brits at the line, taking the silver Olympic medal in a thrilling finish.2000 Olympics at Guerin Foster
/ref>Welch at World Rowing
/ref> Welch studied at

Cambridge University , mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. , established = , other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...

, residing at St Edmund's College, following Sydney 2000 and he raced in the Cambridge boat for

The Boat Race The Boat Race is an annual set of rowing races between the Cambridge University Boat Club and the Oxford University Boat Club, traditionally rowed between open-weight eights on the River Thames in London, England. There are separate men's ...

in 2002. He was back in Australian national contention in 2003 when he competed at the

2003 World Rowing Championships The 2003 World Rowing Championships were World Rowing Championships that were held from 25 August to 1 September 2003 on the lake Idroscalo at Milan, Italy. The international rowing season usually ends with the World Championship regatta. Apart f ...

at Milan in the coxless four which placed fourth. In the 2004 Olympic year he came back into the Australian eight. At

Athens 2004 The 2004 Summer Olympics ( el, Θερινοί Ολυμπιακοί Αγώνες 2004, ), officially the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad ( el, Αγώνες της 28ης Ολυμπιάδας, ) and also known as Athens 2004 ( el, Αθήνα 2004), ...

Welch was in the three seat of the eight when they finished in third place and took the bronze medal.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Welch, Stuart 1977 births Living people Australian male rowers Rowers from Sydney Olympic rowers for Australia Rowers at the 2000 Summer Olympics Rowers at the 2004 Summer Olympics Olympic silver medalists for Australia Olympic bronze medalists for Australia People educated at Sydney Grammar School Olympic medalists in rowing Medalists at the 2004 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 2000 Summer Olympics Cambridge University Boat Club rowers Sportsmen from New South Wales