Derek Nesbitt-Porter (born 2 November 1967) is a gold medal-winning Olympic rower from

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

Early life and education

He was born in

Belfast Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingdo ...

, Northern Ireland, and his father Hugh rowed for England at the

1958 British Empire and Commonwealth Games The 1958 British Empire and Commonwealth Games (Welsh: Gemau Ymerodraeth Prydain a'r Gymanwlad 1958) were held in Cardiff, Wales, from 18–26 July 1958. Thirty-five nations sent a total of 1,130 athletes and 228 officials to the Cardiff Games ...

, winning a bronze medal in the eight-oared race. Porter began his rowing career in his second year at the

University of Victoria The University of Victoria (UVic or Victoria) is a public research university located in the municipalities of Oak Bay and Saanich, British Columbia, Canada. The university traces its roots to Victoria College, the first post-secondary instit ...

Athletic career

Porter won his gold medal in the

1992 Summer Olympics The 1992 Summer Olympics ( es, Juegos Olímpicos de Verano de 1992, ca, Jocs Olímpics d'estiu de 1992), officially known as the Games of the XXV Olympiad ( es, Juegos de la XXV Olimpiada, ca, Jocs de la XXV Olimpíada) and commonly known as ...

, stroking the Canadian Men's Eight. In a photo finish, the Canadian boat won by 0.14 seconds, just nipping

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...

, with two-time defending

World Champion A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game, ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

just 1.5 seconds back in third. Prior to the 1992 Olympics, Porter had rowed in the Canadian men's eight at the 1990 and 1991 World Championships, finishing second to Germany each time. Following the 1992 Olympics, Porter took up sculling. In 1993, he won the Single Scull event at the

World Rowing Championship The World Rowing Championships is an international rowing regatta organized by FISA (the International Rowing Federation). It is a week-long event held at the end of the northern hemisphere summer and in non-Olympic years is the highlight of the ...

s, and was one of the favorites at the

1996 Summer Olympics The 1996 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXVI Olympiad, also known as Atlanta 1996 and commonly referred to as the Centennial Olympic Games) were an international multi-sport event held from July 19 to August 4, 1996, in Atlanta, ...

; Porter led most of the race, only to be passed by

Xeno Müller Xeno Müller (born 7 August 1972) is a Swiss rower and Olympic gold medallist. Early career and university His first international appearance was at the 1990 World Rowing Junior Championships – winning bronze in his single scull (1x). He fir ...

in the last 500 meters. Porter held on to win the silver medal ahead of two-time defending Olympic champion

Thomas Lange Thomas Lange (born 27 February 1964) is a German rower who won two gold and one bronze Olympic medals in the single sculls. Lange is one of six rowers (along with Mahé Drysdale, Pertti Karppinen, Peter-Michael Kolbe, Ondřej Synek and Vyac ...

, who finished third. Following that achievement, Porter was awarded the

Order of British Columbia The Order of British Columbia (french: Ordre de la Colombie-Britannique) is a civilian honour for merit in the Canadian province of British Columbia. Instituted in 1989 by Lieutenant Governor David Lam, on the advice of the Cabinet under Premier B ...

in 1996. Following the 1996 Olympics, Porter devoted himself to chiropractic school, and finished twelfth and thirteenth at the 1997 and 1998 World Championships, respectively. In 1999, Porter devoted more practice time to rowing and would go on to place third at the 1999 World Championship in the single scull behind Muller and

Rob Waddell Robert Norman Waddell (born 7 January 1975) is a New Zealand Olympic Gold Medalist and double World Champion Single sculler rower, and America's Cup yachtsman. He is a triple New Zealand Supreme 'Halberg Awards' Sportsperson of the year winner ...

. One of the most anticipated rowing events at the

2000 Olympics 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 ...

was men's single scull. In addition to Porter, it featured two-time World Champion

, defending Olympic champion and three-time World Championship silver medalist

, and rising star

Marcel Hacker Marcel Hacker (born 29 April 1977, in Magdeburg) is a German rower. He won an Olympic bronze medal in 2000 in Sydney and became a world champion in 2002 in Seville. At the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro ...

. The race lived up to the hype. Porter finished fourth in the closest Olympic race ever, little over 2 seconds separated first from fourth.

Retirement from Olympics

Following the 2000 Olympics, Porter retired from rowing and kept in shape by running triathlons. In 2003, he was inducted into the

hall of fame. Porter then started rowing again, winning the 2006 Canadian national team trials event in the single scull. Porter had planned to team with fellow Olympian

Jake Wetzel Jacob Wetzel (born December 26, 1976) is a Canadian rower. He has represented both Canada and the United States at the World Championships and the Olympics. He was born in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada. College years As a te ...

in the double scull event at the 2006 World Championship, and possibly the

2008 Olympics The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and also known as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes from 204 Nati ...

, but shortly before the Canadian Speed Order trials, Wetzel hurt his back preventing the boat from competing at the 2006 World Championships. In 2012, Porter was inducted into the Canadian sports hall of fame.

Personal life

Currently, Porter is a

chiropractor Chiropractic is a form of alternative medicine concerned with the diagnosis, treatment and prevention of mechanical disorders of the musculoskeletal system, especially of the spine. It has esoteric origins and is based on several pseudoscie ...

living in

Vancouver Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...

with his wife, Helen Rhee-Porter.

Record

Olympics

2000 File:2000 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Protests against Bush v. Gore after the 2000 United States presidential election; Heads of state meet for the Millennium Summit; The International Space Station in its infant form as seen from ...

, 4th, Single Scull (1x) *

1996 File:1996 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: A Centennial Olympic Park bombing, bomb explodes at Centennial Olympic Park in Atlanta, set off by a radical Anti-abortion violence, anti-abortionist; The center fuel tank explodes on TWA Flight 8 ...

, Silver Medal, Single Scull (1x) *

1992 File:1992 Events Collage V1.png, From left, clockwise: 1992 Los Angeles riots, Riots break out across Los Angeles, California after the Police brutality, police beating of Rodney King; El Al Flight 1862 crashes into a residential apartment buildi ...

, Gold Medal, Eight (8+))

World Championships

*1999, Bronze Medal, Single Scull (1x) *1998, 13th Place, Single Scull (1x) *1997, 12th Place, Single Scull (1x) *1995, 7th Place, Single Scull (1x) *1994, 8th Place, Single Scull (1x) *1993, Gold Medal, Single Scull (1x) *1991, Silver Medal, Eight(8+) *1990, Silver Medal, Eight(8+)

References

External links

Canadian Olympic Committee
*
Video of 1996 Olympic race Video of 2000 Olympic race
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Porter, Derek 1967 births Living people Canadian male rowers Olympic rowers for Canada Olympic gold medalists for Canada Olympic silver medalists for Canada Rowers at the 1992 Summer Olympics Rowers at the 1996 Summer Olympics Rowers at the 2000 Summer Olympics Rowers from Vancouver Sportspeople from Belfast Olympic medalists in rowing Canadian chiropractors Medalists at the 1992 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 1996 Summer Olympics University of Victoria alumni Pan American Games gold medalists for Canada Rowers from Northern Ireland Pan American Games medalists in rowing Rowers at the 1999 Pan American Games World Rowing Championships medalists for Canada Medalists at the 1999 Pan American Games