Peter Gregory Johnston (born 16 May 1959), known as Greg Johnston, 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 an Olympic bronze medal at the

1988 Summer Olympics The 1988 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XXIV Olympiad () and commonly known as Seoul 1988 ( ko, 서울 1988, Seoul Cheon gubaek palsip-pal), was an international multi-sport event held from 17 September to 2 October ...

Seoul Seoul (; ; ), officially known as the Seoul Special City, is the capital and largest metropolis of South Korea.Before 1972, Seoul was the ''de jure'' capital of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea) as stated iArticle 103 of ...

. During his rowing career, Johnston has won 26 national championship titles in rowing, and was world champion in 1983 in the coxed four event.

National rowing

Johnston was born in 1959 in Devonport, New Zealand. He received his secondary education at Melville High School in

Hamilton Hamilton may refer to: People * Hamilton (name), a common British surname and occasional given name, usually of Scottish origin, including a list of persons with the surname ** The Duke of Hamilton, the premier peer of Scotland ** Lord Hamilt ...

, where he was

dux ''Dux'' (; plural: ''ducēs'') is Latin for "leader" (from the noun ''dux, ducis'', "leader, general") and later for duke and its variant forms (doge, duce, etc.). During the Roman Republic and for the first centuries of the Roman Empire, '' ...

. He was discovered as a rowing talent by

Harry Mahon Harold Thomas Mahon (15 January 1942 – 19 May 2001) was a New Zealand rowing coach. He coached international crews from New Zealand, Switzerland, South Africa and Great Britain to success at World Championships and Olympic Games. He also coach ...

, who was a teacher at the school and later became national rowing coach. Johnston joined the Waikato Rowing Club and from 1978 onwards, he won a total of 26 national rowing titles: ten titles in the eight, nine titles in the four, two titles in coxless pair, and five titles in coxed pair.

International rowing

His first international success came in the

1978 World Rowing Championships Events January * January 1 – Air India Flight 855, a Boeing 747 passenger jet, crashes off the coast of Bombay, killing 213. * January 5 – Bülent Ecevit, of Republican People's Party, CHP, forms the new government of Turkey (42nd go ...

Lake Karapiro Lake Karapiro () is an artificial reservoir lake on the Waikato River at Karapiro, south-east of Cambridge in New Zealand's North Island. The lake was formed in 1947 by the damming of the Waikato River to store water for the 96-megawatt Karapir ...

, his home training ground, when he won bronze with the New Zealand eight. A year later, Johnston's New Zealand eight won silver at the

1979 World Rowing Championships The 1979 World Rowing Championships were World Rowing Championships that were held from 30 August – 9 September 1979 at Bled in Slovenia, Yugoslavia. Medal summary Men's events Women's events Medal table This table does not include th ...

Bled Bled (; german: Veldes,''Leksikon občin kraljestev in dežel zastopanih v državnem zboru,'' vol. 6: ''Kranjsko''. 1906. Vienna: C. Kr. Dvorna in Državna Tiskarna, p. 146. in older sources also ''Feldes'') is a town on Lake Bled in the Upper C ...

, Yugoslavia. He was selected for the 1980 Summer Olympics in

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 millio ...

but did not compete due to New Zealand joining the Olympic boycott. At the

1981 World Rowing Championships The 1981 World Rowing Championships were World Rowing Championships that were held from 30 August to 6 September 1981 at Oberschleißheim outside Munich, West Germany. Medal summary Men's events Women's events Medal table References ...

, the eight missed the A final and came seventh overall. At the

1983 World Rowing Championships The 1983 World Rowing Championships were World Rowing Championships that were held from 3 to 4 September 1983 at Wedau in Duisburg, West Germany. Medal summary Men's events Women's events Medals table Seventeen nations won medals of t ...

Duisburg Duisburg () is a city in the Ruhr metropolitan area of the western German state of North Rhine-Westphalia. Lying on the confluence of the Rhine and the Ruhr rivers in the center of the Rhine-Ruhr Region, Duisburg is the 5th largest city in No ...

, Germany, he was a member of the coxed four (alongside Conrad Robertson,

Keith Trask Keith Charles Trask (born 27 November 1960) is a former New Zealand rower who won an Olympic gold medal at the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles. Early life Trask was born in 1960 in Hastings, New Zealand. Trask has a twin brother Paul. Thei ...

Les O'Connell Leslie James O'Connell (born 23 May 1958) is a New Zealand former representative rower. He was a two-time world champion and an Olympic champion who won his Olympic gold medal at the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles in the men's coxless four ...

, and

Brett Hollister Brett James Hollister (born 19 May 1966) is a former New Zealand rowing cox who won an Olympic bronze medal at the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles. Since 2004, he had held management positions for rugby union and is the current chief execu ...

as cox) and won gold. At the

1984 Summer Olympics The 1984 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXIII Olympiad and also known as Los Angeles 1984) were an international multi-sport event held from July 28 to August 12, 1984, in Los Angeles, California, United States. It marked the sec ...

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...

, Johnston was again member of the New Zealand eight and they entered the competition as the favourite, with their strongest competitor, East Germany, absent due to the Eastern Bloc boycott, the Kiwis were the favourite to win the event. In the end, the eight finished a disappointing fourth and missed out on a medal. At the

1986 World Rowing Championships The 1986 World Rowing Championships were World Rowing Championships that were held from 17 to 24 August 1986 at Nottingham in the United Kingdom. Medal summary Looking at the open weight classes only, East Germany was the most successful nation ...

Nottingham Nottingham ( , locally ) is a city and unitary authority area in Nottinghamshire, East Midlands, England. It is located north-west of London, south-east of Sheffield and north-east of Birmingham. Nottingham has links to the legend of Robi ...

in the United Kingdom, he won a silver in the men's coxed four with

Nigel Atherfold Nigel William Atherfold (born 13 June 1963) is a former New Zealand rower. At the 1983 World Rowing Championships at Wedau in Duisburg, Germany, he won a gold medal with the New Zealand eight as the bowman. At the 1986 World Rowing Championsh ...

, Bruce Holden, Chris White, and

Andrew Bird Andrew Wegman Bird (born July 11, 1973) is an American indie rock multi-instrumentalist, singer, and songwriter. Since 1996, he has released 16 studio albums, as well as several live albums and EPs, spanning various genres including swing music ...

as cox. At the 1986 Commonwealth Games he was in the coxed four which won the silver medal. At the 1988 Summer Olympics, Johnston won bronze in the

coxed four A coxed four, also known as a 4+, is a rowing boat used in the sport of competitive rowing. It is designed for four persons who propel the boat with sweep oars and is steered by a coxswain. The crew consists of four rowers, each having one ...

along with

George Keys George Keys (born 12 December 1959) is a former New Zealand rower who won an Olympic Bronze medal at the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul. Keys was born in 1959 in the Christchurch suburb of Burwood. He was a member of the Avon Rowing Club. At t ...

Ian Wright Ian Edward Wright (born 3 November 1963) is an English television and radio personality and former professional footballer. He works as a pundit for BBC Sport and ITV Sport. Wright enjoyed success with London clubs Crystal Palace and Arsenal ...

, Chris White and

(cox).

Later life

After retiring from rowing, Johnston lived on the West Coast and worked as an accountant. He also worked as a policeman and as a deer farmer in Geraldine. Together with his brother, he owns a deer farm near

Kaikōura Kaikōura () is a town on the east coast of the South Island of New Zealand. It is located on State Highway 1, 180 km north of Christchurch. The town has an estimated permanent resident population of (as of ). The town is the governmen ...

. He is now married with two children and three grandchildren. Johnston now lives in Kaipaki.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Johnston, Greg 1959 births Living people New Zealand male rowers Olympic rowers for New Zealand Olympic bronze medalists for New Zealand Olympic medalists in rowing Rowers at the 1984 Summer Olympics Rowers at the 1988 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 1988 Summer Olympics Rowers at the 1986 Commonwealth Games Commonwealth Games silver medallists for New Zealand Commonwealth Games medallists in rowing World Rowing Championships medalists for New Zealand 20th-century New Zealand farmers Medallists at the 1986 Commonwealth Games