Sir Matthew Clive Pinsent, (; born 10 October 1970) is an English

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 ...

and broadcaster. During his rowing career, he won 10 world championship gold medals and four consecutive Olympic gold medals. Since retiring, he has worked as a sports broadcaster for the BBC.

Early life and family

Pinsent was born on 10 October 1970 in

Holt Holt or holte may refer to: Natural world *Holt (den), an otter den * Holt, an area of woodland Places Australia * Holt, Australian Capital Territory * Division of Holt, an electoral district in the Australian House of Representatives in Vic ...

Norfolk Norfolk () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in East Anglia in England. It borders Lincolnshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the west and south-west, and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the Nor ...

, the son of Reverend Ewen Macpherson Pinsent (1930–2020),

curate A curate () is a person who is invested with the ''care'' or ''cure'' (''cura'') ''of souls'' of a parish. In this sense, "curate" means a parish priest; but in English-speaking countries the term ''curate'' is commonly used to describe clergy ...

St Andrew Andrew the Apostle ( grc-koi, Ἀνδρέᾱς, Andréās ; la, Andrēās ; , syc, ܐܰܢܕ݁ܪܶܐܘܳܣ, ʾAnd’reʾwās), also called Saint Andrew, was an apostle of Jesus according to the New Testament. He is the brother of Simon Pete ...

's parish church,

Kelso, Scottish Borders Kelso ( sco, Kelsae gd, Cealsaidh) is a market town in the Scottish Borders area of Scotland. Within the boundaries of the historic county of Roxburghshire, it lies where the rivers Tweed and Teviot have their confluence. The town has a p ...

, and Jean Grizel, daughter of Major-General Neil McMicking, CB, CBE, DSO, MC, of Eastferry,

Dunkeld Dunkeld (, sco, Dunkell, from gd, Dùn Chailleann, "fort of the Caledonians") is a town in Perth and Kinross, Scotland. The location of a historic cathedral, it lies on the north bank of the River Tay, opposite Birnam. Dunkeld lies close to t ...

Perthshire Perthshire ( locally: ; gd, Siorrachd Pheairt), officially the County of Perth, is a historic county and registration county in central Scotland. Geographically it extends from Strathmore in the east, to the Pass of Drumochter in the nort ...

, head of the McMicking gentry family of Miltonise,

Dumfries and Galloway Dumfries and Galloway ( sco, Dumfries an Gallowa; gd, Dùn Phrìs is Gall-Ghaidhealaibh) is one of 32 unitary council areas of Scotland and is located in the western Southern Uplands. It covers the historic counties of Dumfriesshire, Kirkc ...

. His paternal grandfather,

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against Fr ...

Commander Clive Pinsent (1886–1948), of Edinglassie Lodge, near

Huntly Huntly ( gd, Srath Bhalgaidh or ''Hunndaidh'') is a town in Aberdeenshire, Scotland, formerly known as Milton of Strathbogie or simply Strathbogie. It had a population of 4,460 in 2004 and is the site of Huntly Castle. Its neighbouring settleme ...

Aberdeenshire Aberdeenshire ( sco, Aiberdeenshire; gd, Siorrachd Obar Dheathain) is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland. It takes its name from the County of Aberdeen which has substantially different boundaries. The Aberdeenshire Council area inclu ...

, was a younger son of Sir Richard Pinsent, 1st Baronet, President of the Law Society between 1918 and 1919. Pinsent is directly descended from

Thomas Howard, 2nd Duke of Norfolk Thomas Howard, 2nd Duke of Norfolk (144321 May 1524), styled Earl of Surrey from 1483 to 1485 and again from 1489 to 1514, was an English nobleman, soldier and statesman who served four monarchs. He was the eldest son of John Howard, 1st D ...

, and thus from

King Edward I Edward I (17/18 June 1239 – 7 July 1307), also known as Edward Longshanks and the Hammer of the Scots, was King of England and Lord of Ireland from 1272 to 1307. Concurrently, he ruled the duchies of Aquitaine and Gascony as a vassal o ...

and

William the Conqueror William I; ang, WillelmI (Bates ''William the Conqueror'' p. 33– 9 September 1087), usually known as William the Conqueror and sometimes William the Bastard, was the first Norman king of England, reigning from 1066 until his death in 10 ...

. Sir George Anson is also an ancestor, as was

Richard Fitz Gilbert de Clare Richard fitz Gilbert de Clare (died 15 April 1136) 3rd feudal baron of Clare in Suffolk, was an Anglo-Norman nobleman. A marcher lord in Wales, he was also the founder of Tonbridge Priory in Kent. Life Richard was the eldest son of Gilbert Fit ...

Rowing

Student rower

Matthew Pinsent attended Aysgarth School in North Yorkshire before he began rowing at

Eton College Eton College () is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school in Eton, Berkshire, England. It was founded in 1440 by Henry VI of England, Henry VI under the name ''Kynge's College of Our Ladye of Eton besyde Windesore'',Nevill, p. 3 ff. i ...

. He began his international career at the

World Rowing Junior Championships The World Rowing Junior Championships is an international rowing regatta organized by FISA (the International Rowing Federation). A rower or coxswain shall be classified as a Junior until 31 December of the year in which he reaches the age of ...

in 1987. He raced again in 1988, winning the junior coxless pairs with Tim Foster. After finishing school, Pinsent read geography at

St Catherine's College, Oxford St Catherine's College (colloquially called St Catz or Catz) is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford and is the newest college admitting both undergraduate and graduate students. Tracing its roots back to 1868 (although t ...

. While a student, he competed in three

Boat Races A boat is a watercraft of a large range of types and sizes, but generally smaller than a ship, which is distinguished by its larger size, shape, cargo or passenger capacity, or its ability to carry boats. Small boats are typically found on inl ...

, winning in 1990 and 1991 but was unsuccessful in 1993 (when he was Boat Club President), having taken a year out in 1992 in order to concentrate on preparing for the Barcelona Olympics.

International career

In 1990, while still at Oxford, he joined

Steve Redgrave Sir Steven Geoffrey Redgrave (born 23 March 1962) is a British retired rower who won gold medals at five consecutive Olympic Games from 1984 to 2000. He has also won three Commonwealth Games gold medals and nine World Rowing Championships gold ...

in the coxless pair at the World Rowing Championships, winning bronze. This was the beginning of a long partnership, and the pair won at the World Championships in 1991, and at the Olympic Games in 1992 and 1996. In 2000 he won Olympic gold again as part of a coxless four with Redgrave, James Cracknell and Tim Foster. He also carried the flag for

Team GB Team GB is the brand name used since 1999 by the British Olympic Association (BOA) for their British Olympic team. The brand was developed after the nation's poor performance in the 1996 Summer Olympics, and is now a trademark of the BOA. I ...

at the

opening ceremony An opening ceremony, grand opening, or ribbon-cutting ceremony marks the official opening of a newly-constructed location or the start of an event.

. In August 2000, the month prior to winning gold in

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mounta ...

, he took part in a three-part BBC documentary entitled ''

Gold Fever A gold rush or gold fever is a discovery of gold—sometimes accompanied by other precious metals and rare-earth minerals—that brings an onrush of miners seeking their fortune. Major gold rushes took place in the 19th century in Australia, New Ze ...

''. This followed the coxless four team in the years leading up to the Olympics, including video diaries recording the highs and lows in the quest for what would be Pinsent's third consecutive gold. He was the subject of ''

This Is Your Life This Is Your Life may refer to: Television * ''This Is Your Life'' (American franchise), an American radio and television documentary biography series hosted by Ralph Edwards * ''This Is Your Life'' (Australian TV series), the Australian versio ...

'' in November 2000 when he was surprised by

Michael Aspel Michael Terence Aspel (born 12 January 1933) is an English retired television newsreader and host of programmes such as '' Crackerjack'', ''Aspel & Company'', '' Give Us a Clue'', ''This is Your Life'', '' Strange but True?'' and ''Antiques Ro ...

during a party celebrating the achievements of the British Olympic Association at the London Aquarium. Pinsent and Cracknell then formed a men's coxless pair and won the coxless and coxed pairs (with Neil Chugani coxing) in the 2001 World Championships, and the coxless pair in 2002. However, after a disappointing 2003 season that saw Pinsent's first World Championships defeat since 1990, he and Cracknell moved to the men's coxless four for 2004. At the

2004 Summer Olympics The 2004 Summer Olympics ( el, Θερινοί Ολυμπιακοί Αγώνες 2004, ), officially the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad ( el, Αγώνες της 28ης Ολυμπιάδας, ) and also known as Athens 2004 ( el, Αθήνα 2004), ...

Athens Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates a ...

, Pinsent's fourth Olympic Games, Pinsent stroked the boat, with Cracknell, Ed Coode and Steve Williams. In a close race with world champions

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 to ...

, they again won gold. Pinsent was elected to the

International Olympic Committee's Athletes' Commission International Olympic Committee Athletes' Commission (IOC AC) is a majority elected body that serves as a link between athletes and the IOC. The mission of the IOC AC is to ensure that athletes' viewpoint remains at the heart of the Olympic Movemen ...

in 2001, replacing

Jan Železný Jan Železný (; born 16 June 1966) is a Czech former track and field athlete who competed in the javelin throw. He is a World and Olympic champion and holds the world record with a throw of . Widely considered to be the greatest javelin throwe ...

. In 2004, at the Athens Olympics, Pinsent failed to secure re-election to the post, being replaced by Železný. The , Pinsent had at one time the largest lung capacity recorded for a sportsman at 8.5 litres. This has since been surpassed by fellow rower

Pete Reed Peter K. Reed OBE (born 27 July 1981) is a retired British Olympic rower. Reed is a three-times Olympic gold medallist – earning gold in the Men's coxless four at the 2008 and 2012 Olympics, and then a gold medal in the Men's eight at the 2 ...

who has been measured at 9.38 litres.

Achievements

Olympic Games

* 2004 – Gold, Coxless Four (with James Cracknell, Steve Williams, Ed Coode) * 2000 – Gold, Coxless Four (with James Cracknell, Tim Foster,

) * 1996 – Gold, Coxless Pair (with

) * 1992 – Gold, Coxless Pair (with

)

World Championships

* 2003 – 4th, Coxless Pair (with James Cracknell) * 2002 – Gold, Coxless Pair (with James Cracknell) * 2001 – Gold, Coxless Pair (with James Cracknell) * 2001 – Gold, Coxed Pair (with James Cracknell, Neil Chugani) * 1999 – Gold, Coxless Four (with James Cracknell, Ed Coode, Steve Redgrave) * 1998 – Gold, Coxless Four (with James Cracknell, Tim Foster, Steve Redgrave) * 1997 – Gold, Coxless Four (with James Cracknell, Tim Foster, Steve Redgrave) * 1995 – Gold, Coxless Pair (with Steve Redgrave) * 1994 – Gold, Coxless Pair (with Steve Redgrave) * 1993 – Gold, Coxless Pair (with Steve Redgrave) * 1991 – Gold, Coxless Pair (with Steve Redgrave) * 1990 – Bronze, Coxless Pair (with Steve Redgrave) * 1989 – Bronze, Coxed Four (with Terry Dillon, Steve Turner, Gavin Stewart, Vaughan Thomas)

Junior World Championships

* 1988 – Gold, Coxless Pair (with Tim Foster) * 1987 – 4th, Eight

Career after rowing

Pinsent announced his retirement from rowing on 30 November 2004, and was made a

Knight Bachelor The title of Knight Bachelor is the basic rank granted to a man who has been knighted by the monarch but not inducted as a member of one of the organised orders of chivalry; it is a part of the British honours system. Knights Bachelor are ...

in the New Year's Honours list announced on 31 December 2004. He had already been appointed a Member of the

Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established ...

in 1993, raised to Commander in 2001. He was awarded the Thomas Keller Medal by the International Rowing Federation in 2005. Since retiring from rowing, Pinsent has worked for the BBC as a sports bulletin presenter and reporter. His assignments have included interviewing Dwain Chambers for '' Inside Sport'', where Chambers confessed to taking drugs, and visiting gymnastics training centre in China where he found evidence of children being beaten, leading to IOC President

Jacques Rogge Jacques Jean Marie Rogge, Count Rogge (, ; 2 May 1942 – 29 August 2021) was a Belgian sports administrator and physician who served as the eighth President of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) from 2001 to 2013. In 2013, Rogge bec ...

to order an inquiry. Pinsent has maintained his ties to rowing as an umpire or commentator of key events on the rowing calendar such as the Olympics,

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 thr ...

and

The Boat Race The Boat Race is an annual set of rowing races between the Cambridge University Boat Club and the Oxford University Boat Club, traditionally rowed between open-weight eights on the River Thames in London, England. There are separate men's ...

s. He umpired his first " Blue Boat" race in

2013 File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fa ...

. In June 2012, Pinsent rowed on the ''

Gloriana ''Gloriana'', Op. 53, is an opera in three acts by Benjamin Britten to an English libretto by William Plomer, based on Lytton Strachey's 1928 ''Elizabeth and Essex: A Tragic History''. The first performance was presented at the Royal Opera Ho ...

'' as part of the royal pageant for the

Diamond Jubilee A diamond jubilee celebrates the 60th anniversary of a significant event related to a person (e.g. accession to the throne or wedding, among others) or the 60th anniversary of an institution's founding. The term is also used for 75th anniver ...

Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until her death in 2022. She was queen regnant of 32 sovereign states durin ...

. He appeared again on the ''Gloriana'' the following month, bearing the olympic torch as it crossed the river Thames. Pinsent directed "Unbelievable – The Chad Le Clos Story", a documentary following

Chad Le Clos Chad Guy Bertrand le Clos, OIS (born 12 April 1992) is a South African competitive swimmer who is an Olympic, World and Commonwealth Games champion. He is the African record, Commonwealth record, and South African record holder in the short ...

and his family for 18 months in the run up to the

2016 Summer Olympics ) , nations = 207 (including IOA and EOR teams) , athletes = 11,238 , events = 306 in 28 sports (41 disciplines) , opening = 5 August 2016 , closing = 21 August 2016 , opened_by = Vice President Michel Temer , cauldron = Vanderlei Cordeiro de ...

, which was first broadcast in July 2016. In 2020 Pinsent appeared as a contestant on Series 15 of BBC Television's ''

Celebrity Masterchef ''MasterChef'' is a competitive cooking reality show produced by Endemol Shine UK and Banijay and broadcast in 60 countries around the world. In the UK, it is produced by the BBC. The show initially ran from 1990 to 2001 and was revived in 20 ...

'', finishing in joint-second place.

Personal life

Pinsent is married to Demetra Koutsoukos, a businesswoman, former partner at

McKinsey & Co McKinsey & Company is a global management consulting firm founded in 1926 by University of Chicago professor James O. McKinsey, that offers professional services to corporations, governments, and other organizations. McKinsey is the oldest and ...

, and current CEO of the makeup brand Charlotte Tilbury Ltd. The couple met at Oxford, where Koutsoukos was a

Rhodes Scholar The Rhodes Scholarship is an international postgraduate award for students to study at the University of Oxford, in the United Kingdom. Established in 1902, it is the oldest graduate scholarship in the world. It is considered among the world' ...

from Harvard. They have three children: twin boys, Jonah and Lucas (born 2006) and a daughter, Eve (born 2008).

Styles and honours

* Mr Matthew Pinsent (1970–1992) * Mr Matthew Pinsent, MBE (1993–2000) * Mr Matthew Pinsent, CBE (2001–2004) * Sir Matthew Pinsent, CBE (2005—)

Bibliography

References

External links

Official website
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Pinsent, Matthew 1970 births Living people People from Holt, Norfolk English people of Scottish descent English male rowers Olympic rowers of Great Britain Olympic gold medallists for Great Britain Rowers at the 1992 Summer Olympics Rowers at the 1996 Summer Olympics Rowers at the 2000 Summer Olympics Rowers at the 2004 Summer Olympics International Olympic Committee members People educated at Aysgarth School People educated at Eton College Alumni of St Catherine's College, Oxford Oxford University Boat Club rowers Knights Bachelor People in sports awarded knighthoods Commanders of the Order of the British Empire English television presenters BBC sports presenters and reporters Stewards of Henley Royal Regatta Members of Leander Club Olympic medalists in rowing English Olympic medallists Sportspeople from Yorkshire World Rowing Championships medalists for Great Britain Medalists at the 2004 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 2000 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 1996 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 1992 Summer Olympics Thomas Keller Medal recipients