Richard John Joyce (born 1 May 1946) is a former New Zealand

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 won two Olympic gold medals during his career. Joyce was born in 1946 in

Wellington Wellington ( mi, Te Whanganui-a-Tara or ) is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the second-largest city in New Zealand by metr ...

, New Zealand. For the

1968 Summer Olympics The 1968 Summer Olympics ( es, Juegos Olímpicos de Verano de 1968), officially known as the Games of the XIX Olympiad ( es, Juegos de la XIX Olimpiada) and commonly known as Mexico 1968 ( es, México 1968), were an international multi-sport eve ...

, New Zealand qualified an eight and had a pool of four rowers and a cox as a travelling reserve; Joyce was part of this reserve. Preparations were held in

Christchurch Christchurch ( ; mi, Ōtautahi) is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand and the seat of the Canterbury Region. Christchurch lies on the South Island's east coast, just north of Banks Peninsula on Pegasus Bay. The Avon Rive ...

at Kerr's Reach on the Avon River. The reserve rowers were unhappy with the "spare parts" tag and felt that they were good enough to perhaps win a medal if put forward as a coxed four. The manager,

Rusty Robertson Russell Robertson (1927 – 17 February 1990), known as Rusty Robertson, was a New Zealand-born, world class rowing coach of New Zealand and later, Australian national representative rowing crews. He was the national rowing coach of New Zealand ...

, commented about them that they were "the funniest looking crew you've ever seen". There were stern discussions with the New Zealand selectors. In a training run, the coxed four was leading the eight over the whole race. In the end, the reserve rowers got their way and New Zealand entered both the coxed four and the coxed eight. Joyce won the Olympic coxed four event along with

Dudley Storey Dudley Leonard Storey (27 November 1939 – 6 March 2017) was a New Zealand rower who won two Olympic medals. Rowing career Storey was born in 1939 in Wairoa, New Zealand. After having received an invitation to the Henley Royal Regatta, he ...

, Ross Collinge, Warren Cole and

Simon Dickie Simon Charles Dickie (31 March 1951 – 13 December 2017) was a New Zealand rowing cox who won three Olympic medals. Dickie was born in 1951 in Waverley in Taranaki, New Zealand. He was educated at Wanganui Collegiate School where he was part ...

(cox); this was New Zealand's first gold medal in rowing. He was 22 and had just finished his mechanical engineering degree. The crew's boat was sold to a rowing club to recoup costs, and ended up in splinters after a road crash. At the

1972 Summer Olympics The 1972 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XX Olympiad () and commonly known as Munich 1972 (german: München 1972), was an international multi-sport event held in Munich, West Germany, from 26 August to 11 September 1972. ...

Munich Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the third-largest city in Germany, after Berlin and Ha ...

he teamed with

Tony Hurt Anthony John Hurt (born 30 March 1946) is a former New Zealand rower who won two Olympic medals. At the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich, he teamed with Dick Joyce, Wybo Veldman, John Hunter, Lindsay Wilson, Joe Earl, Trevor Coker and Gary R ...

, Wybo Veldman, John Hunter, Lindsay Wilson,

Joe Earl Athol John "Joe" Earl (born 1 October 1952) is a former New Zealand rower who won two Olympic medals. Earl was born in 1952 in Christchurch and grew up on a farm in Hawarden in North Canterbury. He received his education at St. Andrew's Colle ...

Trevor Coker Trevor Ian Coker (1 October 1949 – 23 August 1981) was a New Zealand rower who won two Olympic medals. He was born in Whanganui, New Zealand. Coker won the European Championship in 1971. Known then as the "New Zealand Eight", Coker and his tea ...

, Gary Robertson and

(cox) to win the eights. Joyce is one of only fifteen New Zealanders to have won two or more

Olympic gold medal Olympic or Olympics may refer to Sports Competitions * Olympic Games, international multi-sport event held since 1896 ** Summer Olympic Games ** Winter Olympic Games * Ancient Olympic Games, ancient multi-sport event held in Olympia, Greece b ...

s. He later owned an engineering business in Seaview, an

industrial suburb An industrial suburb is a community, near a large city, with an industrial economy. These communities may be established as tax havens or as places where zoning promotes industry, or they may be industrial towns that become suburbs by urban spr ...

of Lower Hutt. He has always been associated with the Hutt Valley and belongs to the Hutt Valley club, but has moved and now lives in

Petone Petone (Māori: ''Pito-one''), a large suburb of Lower Hutt, Wellington, stands at the southern end of the Hutt Valley, on the northern shore of Wellington Harbour. The Māori name means "end of the sand beach". Europeans first settled in P ...

. He is a life member of Wellington Rowing Club and currently coaches its masters squad.

References

External links

*
Official New Zealand Olympic Committee
{{DEFAULTSORT:Joyce, Dick 1946 births Living people New Zealand male rowers Olympic gold medalists for New Zealand in rowing Rowers at the 1968 Summer Olympics Rowers at the 1972 Summer Olympics Rowers from Wellington City World Rowing Championships medalists for New Zealand Medalists at the 1972 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 1968 Summer Olympics European Rowing Championships medalists