William Duthie Kinnear (3 December 1880 – 5 March 1974) was a Scottish

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 for Great Britain at the 1912 Summer Olympics and won major

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 ...

events prior to the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

Early days

Better known to his friends as Wally, Kinnear was born in

Marykirk Marykirk ( gd, Obar Luathnait) is a village in the Kincardine and Mearns area of Aberdeenshire, Scotland, next to the border with Angus at the River North Esk. The village is approximately 6 miles ENE of Montrose at the southern end of the ...

, where he became a draper's assistant. He left home in 1902 for a career with the chain store

Debenhams Debenhams plc was a British department store chain operating in the United Kingdom, Denmark and the Republic of Ireland. It was founded in 1778 as a single store in London and grew to 178 locations across those countries, also owning the Danish ...

in London. Work colleagues introduced him to sculling and he became hooked. He first joined the Cavendish Rowing Club and in 1903 won the West End

ARA ARA may refer to: Media and the arts * American-Romanian Academy of Arts and Sciences * '' Artistička Radna Akcija'', compilation album released in former Yugoslavia * Associate of the Royal Academy, denoting membership in the British Royal Aca ...

sculling championship. He repeated this success in 1904 and 1905.

Road to success

Kinnear then joined the Kensington Rowing Club and won many sculling championships on the

River Thames The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the second-longest in the United Kingdom, after the R ...

over the next few years. In 1910 he won 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 and 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 ...

when he beat Robert Bourne. In 1911 he beat Eric Powell to win the Diamonds, regained the Wingfield Sculls and won the London Cup at the

Metropolitan Regatta The Metropolitan Regatta is an international rowing regatta. It takes place on Dorney Lake, Buckinghamshire near Eton next to the River Thames in southern England. It attracts crews from schools, clubs, and universities from around the United K ...

to achieve sculling's "Triple Crown".Henley Royal Regatta Results of Final Races 1839–1939
. rowinghistory.net

Olympics and beyond

Kinnear won the gold medal in the single sculls,

rowing at the 1912 Summer Olympics Rowing at the 1912 Summer Olympics featured four events, for men only. All races were held in Djurgårdsbrunnsviken from Thursday to Saturday, 17 to 19 July. Medal summary Bronze medals Bronze medals were not awarded to the losing semi fina ...

in Stockholm. He captured the Olympic title comfortably and later the same year secured his third successive Wingfield Sculls. He lost the Wingfield Sculls in 1913 to Jock Wise.

Later life

During World War I Kinnear served with the Royal Naval Air Service and then became a rowing coach. Later he moved to

Desford, Leicestershire Desford is a village and civil parish in the Hinckley and Bosworth district, west of the centre of Leicester and around 7 miles north east of Hinckley. Situated on a hill approximately 400 feet above sea level, the parish includes the hamlets ...

, where he worked as a security officer. He died of heart failure at Leicester General Hospital on 5 March 1974. Kinnear was Godfather to writer

Eric Newby George Eric Newby (6 December 1919 – 20 October 2006) was an English travel writer. His works include '' A Short Walk in the Hindu Kush'', ''The Last Grain Race'' and '' A Small Place in Italy''. Early life Newby was born in Barnes, London, ...

, as mentioned in Newby's 1962 book "Something Wholesale". He was inducted into the

Scottish Sports Hall of Fame The Scottish Sports Hall of Fame is the national sports hall of fame of Scotland, set up in 2002. It is a joint project organised by sportscotland, the national governmental body for Scottish sport, and National Museums Scotland. It is also funded ...

on 12 of March 2007.

References

External links

profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kinnear, Wally 1880 births 1974 deaths Olympic rowers of Great Britain People from Kincardine and Mearns Scottish male rowers Olympic gold medallists for Great Britain Olympic medalists in rowing Scottish Olympic medallists Medalists at the 1912 Summer Olympics People from Hinckley and Bosworth (district) Sportspeople from Leicestershire Rowers at the 1912 Summer Olympics Sportspeople from Aberdeenshire