Michael Scott McKay, OAM (born 30 September 1964), known as Mike McKay, is an Australian

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 ...

, a four-time world champion, a four-time Olympic medallist and Commonwealth Games gold medallist. From 1990 to 1998 he was a member of Australia's prominent world class crew – the

coxless four A coxless four is a rowing boat used in the sport of competitive rowing. It is designed for four persons who propel the boat with sweep oars, without a coxswain. The crew consists of four rowers, each having one oar. There are two rowers on th ...

known as the

Oarsome Foursome The Oarsome Foursome is the nickname for an Australian men's rowing coxless four crew who competed with a clear lineage between 1990 and 2012, winning two Olympic gold medals and one silver medal, two world championships as a coxless four, and ...

Club and state rowing

McKay commenced his rowing at

Xavier College Xavier College is a Roman Catholic, day and boarding school predominantly for boys, founded in 1872 by the Society of Jesus, with its main campus located in Kew, an eastern suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Classes started in 1878. ...

Kew Kew () is a district in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames. Its population at the 2011 census was 11,436. Kew is the location of the Royal Botanic Gardens ("Kew Gardens"), now a World Heritage Site, which includes Kew Palace. Kew is a ...

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

. His senior club rowing was from the

Mercantile Rowing Club The Mercantile Rowing Club is based in Melbourne, Australia on the Yarra River. It was founded in 1880 and has occupied its current site since 1885. More than 40 Mercantillians have represented Australia at Olympic Games. Club history A group o ...

. McKay was selected in Victorian state representative King's Cup crews contesting the men's Interstate Eight-Oared Championship at the

Australian Rowing Championships Australian(s) may refer to: Australia * Australia, a country * Australians, citizens of the Commonwealth of Australia ** European Australians ** Anglo-Celtic Australians, Australians descended principally from British colonists ** Aboriginal Aus ...

on eighteen occasions from 1986 to 2004. McKay was in winning Victorian King's Cup crews on fifteen occasions.

International representative rowing

McKay's first national representative selection was to the 1985 Match des Seniors in

Banyoles Banyoles () is a city of 20,168 inhabitants (2021) located in the province of Girona in northeastern Catalonia, Spain. The town is the capital of the Catalan Comarques of Catalonia, ''comarca'' "Pla de l'Estany". Although an established indust ...

Spain – then the equivalent of today's

World Rowing U23 Championships World Rowing U23 Championships is an international rowing regatta organized by FISA The Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978 ("FISA" , ) is a United States federal law that establishes procedures for the physical and electronic sur ...

. McKay rowed in the Australian men's eight to a silver medal. That same crew represented Australia in the men's eight selected for the 1985 Trans-Tasman U/23 regatta held on

Lake Ruataniwha Lake Ruataniwha is an artificial lake in the Mackenzie Basin in the South Island of New Zealand. It was formed in 1977–1981 as part of the Waitaki hydroelectric project. It lies on the traditional boundary of the Canterbury and Otago provinces, ...

New Zealand. His first senior national call up was to the 1986 World Rowing Championships in

Nottingham, England 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 Robin ...

where he rowed the four seat in the Australian men's eight to victory. It was Australia's first and only World Championship title in the men's VIII. That same year at the

1986 Commonwealth Games The 1986 Commonwealth Games ( gd, Geamannan a 'Cho-fhlaitheis 1986) were held in Edinburgh, Scotland, between 24 July and 2 August 1986. They were the second Games to be held in Edinburgh. Thirty two of the eligible fifty nine countries (largel ...

in Edinburgh, in that same crew McKay won gold in the Australian men's VIII. McKay also rowed in a

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 oa ...

to a bronze medal at those same games. In 1990, McKay, with Nick Green,

Samuel Patten Samuel Patten (born 23 May 1963) is a former Australian World Champion rower and Olympic medallist. His professional career has been as an orthopaedic surgeon specialising in hip and knee surgery and based in Melbourne. From 1990 to 1991 he was ...

, James Tomkins were selected race as Australia's

. Their success was immediate. They won the 1990 and 1991

World Rowing Championships 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 ...

. And with

Andrew Cooper Andrew Dollman Cooper (born 23 December 1964) is a former Australian Olympic Champion and World Champion rower. He is a national champion, dual Olympian and two-time World Champion who achieved success as a member of Australia's " Oarsome Fo ...

replacing Samuel Patten, they followed up with a gold medal at 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 ...

Barcelona Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...

. The crew's success gained them the nickname ''

''. The boat repeated its Gold medal performance 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, ...

, this time with

Drew Ginn Drew Cameron Ginn OAM (born 20 November 1974) is an Australian five-time world champion rower, a four time Olympian and triple Olympic gold medallist. From 1995 to 1998 he was a member of Australia's prominent world class crew – the coxless f ...

replacing

. At the 1998 World Rowing Championships, McKay, with the other members of the Oarsome Foursome, teamed to win the coxless four. At those same championships McKay with Drew Ginn placed second in the coxless pair. In 1999 the foursome tried out but lost the 1999 Australian selection trials as a coxless four. Nick Green retired, Tomkins and Ginn decided to switch to the coxless pairs, and McKay tried out for the Australian eight which ended up finishing seventh at the World Championships. In 2000 the Australian eight 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 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 ...

with McKay 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.McKay at World Rowing
/ref> McKay was again in the Australian eight for 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 ...

. The boat finished third behind the United States and the Netherlands.

Accolades

In 1993, McKay and the other members of his 1992 Olympic boat were awarded the

Order of Australia The Order of Australia is an honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, on the advice of the Australian Gove ...

. In 2007 he was inducted into the

Sport Australia Hall of Fame The Sport Australia Hall of Fame was established on 10 December 1985 to recognise the achievements of Australian sportsmen and sportswomen. The inaugural induction included 120 members with Sir Don Bradman as the first inductee and Dawn Fraser th ...

. and that same year the

International Rowing Federation World Rowing, also known as the World Rowing Federation (former abbreviation FISA; french: Fédération internationale des sociétés d'aviron), is the international governing body for rowing. Its current president is Jean-Christophe Rolland who ...

awarded McKay the

Thomas Keller Medal The Thomas Keller Medal is given by the World Rowing Federation (FISA) for an outstanding international career in the sport of rowing. It is the highest honor in rowing and is awarded to any athlete within five years of his/her retirement from the ...

for his outstanding international rowing career. It is the sport's highest honor and is awarded within five years of the athlete's retirement, acknowledging an exceptional career and exemplary

sportsmanship Sportsmanship is an aspiration or ethos that a sport, or activity will be enjoyed for its own sake. This is with proper consideration for fairness, ethics, respect, and a sense of fellowship with one's competitors. A "sore loser" refers to on ...

Rowing palmares

Olympic Games

*2004 – Bronze, Eight *2000 – Silver, Eight *1996 – Gold, Coxless Four (with Nick Green,

, James Tomkins) *1992 – Gold, Coxless Four (with Nick Green, Andrew Cooper, James Tomkins) *1988 – 5th, Eight

World championships

*1999 – Seventh, Eight *1998 – Gold, Coxed Four (with Nick Green, James Tomkins, Drew Ginn and Brett Hayman (cox)) *1998 – Silver, Coxless Pair (with Drew Ginn) *1995 – 5th, Coxless Four (with Nick Green, Drew Ginn, James Tomkins) *1991 – Gold, Coxless Four (with Nick Green, Samuel Patten, James Tomkins) *1990 – Gold, Coxless Four (with Nick Green, Samuel Patten, James Tomkins) *1986 – Gold, Men's Eight

Life after rowing

In May 2011 McKay was announced as the CEO of the GreenEdge Cycling Team which began competing in 2012.Mike Mckay appointed CEO of GreenEdge
/ref> In 2022 he coached the Victorian men's senior eight to a second placing in the King's Cup at the Interstate Regatta.

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Mckay, Mike 1964 births Living people Australian male rowers Olympic rowers of Australia Rowers at the 1992 Summer Olympics Rowers at the 1996 Summer Olympics Rowers at the 2000 Summer Olympics Rowers at the 2004 Summer Olympics Olympic gold medalists for Australia Olympic silver medalists for Australia Olympic bronze medalists for Australia Recipients of the Medal of the Order of Australia Sport Australia Hall of Fame inductees People educated at Xavier College Olympic medalists in rowing Rowers at the 1988 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 2004 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 2000 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 1996 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 1992 Summer Olympics Commonwealth Games medallists in rowing Commonwealth Games gold medallists for Australia Commonwealth Games bronze medallists for Australia World Rowing Championships medalists for Australia Thomas Keller Medal recipients Rowers at the 1986 Commonwealth Games Rowers from Melbourne Medallists at the 1986 Commonwealth Games