Nicolaas "Nico" Hessel Rienks (born 1 February 1962) is a former

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 ...

from the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

and two-time Olympic gold medallist. Rienks won the gold medal in the men's double sculls 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 ...

, alongside

Ronald Florijn Ronald Florijn (born 21 April 1961) is a former rower from the Netherlands and two-time Olympic gold medallist. Florijn won the gold medal in the men's double sculls at the 1988 Summer Olympics, alongside Nico Rienks. At the 1996 Summer Olympi ...

. 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, ...

, he repeated his gold medal performance winning the eight with coxswain event with the Holland Acht (Holland Eight). He also competed at the 1984 and 2000 Olympics but finished outside the podium. With

Henk-Jan Zwolle Henk-Jan Zwolle (born 30 November 1964 in Enschede, Overijssel) is a former rower from the Netherlands and two-time Olympic medallist. He competed in three consecutive Summer Olympics, starting in 1988. Zwolle and Nico Rienks won gold in do ...

he won the gold medal in the double sculls competition at the 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 th ...

. He also won three silver medals at the world championships in 1989 (double sculls), 1994 and 1995 (eights). He was named 'Dutch Rower of the Century' and is an honorary member of the Dutch Rowing Federation. In 2004, Rienks was awarded 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 ...

by 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 ...

References

1962 births Living people Dutch male rowers Olympic rowers of the Netherlands Olympic gold medalists for the Netherlands Olympic bronze medalists for the Netherlands Olympic medalists in rowing Rowers at the 1984 Summer Olympics Rowers at the 1988 Summer Olympics Rowers at the 1992 Summer Olympics Rowers at the 1996 Summer Olympics Rowers at the 2000 Summer Olympics People from Tiel Sportspeople from Gelderland World Rowing Championships medalists for the Netherlands Medalists at the 1996 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 1992 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 1988 Summer Olympics Thomas Keller Medal recipients {{Netherlands-rowing-bio-stub