Christian Ryan (born 5 June 1977 in Warrnambool, Victoria) is an Australian former rower who won a silver medal at the 2000 Sydney Olympics.

Club and state rowing

Ryan's senior club rowing was from the Melbourne University Boat Club. Victorian state representation first came for Ryan in the 1996 youth eight which contested and won the Noel Wilkinson Trophy at the Interstate Regatta within the Australian Rowing Championships. In 1998 he was selected in the Victorian men's eight to race for the King's Cup at the Interstate Regatta. He rowed in the bow seat of that 1998 Vic eight to a King's Cup victory. He rowed in further Victorian King's Cup crews in 1999, 2000, 2005, 2006, 2007 and saw victories in 2000, 2006 and 2007.

International representative rowing

Ryan's Australian representative debut was at the 1997 World Rowing Cup III in Lucerne in an U23 Australian eight. That crew then competed at the 1997 World Rowing U23 Championships in Milan where they raced to a fourth place. In 1998 he was again in the Australian U23 eight when they raced at the World Rowing Cup III in Lucerne and then at the 1998 World Rowing U23 Championships in Ioannina, Greece where they won the gold medal. In 1999 Ryan was elevated to the Australian senior squad. He competed in a coxless pair at the World Rowing Cup III in Lucerne and then was selected in the Australian eight for the

1999 World Rowing Championships The 1999 World Rowing Championships were World Rowing Championships that were held from 22 to 29 August 1999 at the Royal Canadian Henley Rowing Course in St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada. Medal summary Men's events Women's events Medal ...

in St Catharine's Canada. The eight missed the A final and finished in overall seventh place. In 2000 Ryan was in the Australian eight which qualified for the Olympics and raced 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 with Ryan in the bow 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 and to take the silver Olympic medal in a thrilling finish.Ryan at World Rowing
/ref> After a five year gap Ryan was back in national representative contention in 2005. He raced in a coxless pair with

Karsten Forsterling Karsten Forsterling (born 21 January 1980) is an Australian former representative rower. He was a national champion, world champion, a dual Olympian and Olympic medal winner. He represented Australia at eight senior world rowing cham ...

at the

2005 World Rowing Championships The 2005 World Rowing Championships were World Rowing Championships that were held from 29 August to 4 September 2005 at the Nagaragawa International Regatta Course in Kaizu, Gifu Prefecture, Japan. The international rowing season usually ends wi ...

to an overall eighth placing. In 2006 he made his last Australian appearance in a coxless four at the World Rowing Cup II in Poznan.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Ryan, Christian 1977 births Living people Australian male rowers Rowers at the 2000 Summer Olympics Olympic silver medalists for Australia Olympic rowers for Australia Olympic medalists in rowing Medalists at the 2000 Summer Olympics Sportspeople from Warrnambool Sportsmen from Victoria (state)