Zachary Jake Nicholas Purchase-Hill MBE (born 2 May 1986) is a retired 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 ...

. Purchase won an Olympic gold medal at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing and a silver medal at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London. Both medals were won in the Lightweight Men's Double Sculls. He has also won three gold, one silver and a bronze at the

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 ...

Early life and education

Purchase was born in Cheltenham to Nicholas Purchase and Sara Holyer on 2 May 1986. Originally a competitive swimmer, Purchase started rowing in 1999 whilst a pupil at the

King's School, Worcester The King's School, Worcester is an English independent day school refounded by Henry VIII in 1541. It occupies a site adjacent to Worcester Cathedral on the banks of the River Severn in the centre of the city of Worcester. It offers mixed-sex m ...

. Whilst at school, he also passed Grade 8 on the Saxophone with a Merit. Following school, Purchase joined the

British Rowing British Rowing, formerly the Amateur Rowing Association (ARA), is the national governing body for the sport of rowing (both indoor and on-water rowing). It is responsible for the training and selection of individual rowers and crews representi ...

team as a Junior rower.

Rowing career

His main discipline was sculling with the majority of his international medals being won in the Lightweight Men's

Double Scull A double scull is a rowing boat used in the sport of competitive rowing. It is designed for two persons who propel the boat by sculling with two oars each, one in each hand. Racing boats (often called "shells") are long, narrow, and broadly ...

with Mark Hunter. In 2002, Purchase won his first international medals, a gold and silver at the

Coupe de la Jeunesse The Coupe de la Jeunesse is an international rowing regatta rowed over 2,000 m every year. It was founded in 1985 and is open to rowers who are 18 or under by the end of the current calendar year. It is a two-day team event, with points award ...

and competed 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 ...

the following two years. In 2003, aged 17, Purchase won the

Fawley Challenge Cup The Fawley Challenge Cup is a rowing event for junior boys quadruple sculls at the annual Henley Royal Regatta on the River Thames, at Henley-on-Thames in England open to those who have not attained 18 years of age by 1 September of the year bef ...

at Henley Royal Regatta. in 2005, Purchase competed at the

World Rowing U23 Championships World Rowing U23 Championships is an international rowing regatta Boat racing is a sport in which boats, or other types of watercraft, race on water. Boat racing powered by oars is recorded as having occurred in ancient Egypt, and it is l ...

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the capital and most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population of 907,976 within the city proper, 1,558,755 in the urban ar ...

where he won a gold medal. He entered the Senior

three weeks later and won a silver medal. Both medals were achieved in the Lightweight Men's Single Scull. By 2006, Purchase was a full-time member of the senior

, based in Caversham, Berkshire. The same year saw him suffer a ligament injury in his left wrist, which stopped him training between January – May. Regardless of this, his competed at the

Eton, Berkshire Eton ( ) is a town in Berkshire, England, on the opposite bank of the River Thames to Windsor, connected to it by Windsor Bridge. The civil parish, which also includes the village of Eton Wick two miles west of the town, had a population of 4 ...

that summer and won his first World Championship title, achieving a World Record in the Lightweight Men's Single Scull. Following his success in 2006, Purchase moved to the Lightweight Men's

in order to train for the 2008 Summer Olympics. Purchase achieved a bronze medal with Hunter in this category at the 2007

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 ...

, Germany. In 2008, Purchase went on to win an Olympic gold medal at the 2008 Summer Olympics in

Beijing } Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...

following an incredible season where Purchase & Hunter also won the

World Rowing Cup The World Rowing Cup is an international rowing competition organized by FISA (the International Rowing Federation). It began in 1997 and comprises three regattas (apart from in 2001 when there were four) held throughout early summer. In each eve ...

. Purchase won another two gold medals at the 2010 and 2011

, in

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

and

Slovenia Slovenia ( ; sl, Slovenija ), officially the Republic of Slovenia (Slovene: , abbr.: ''RS''), is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the southeast, an ...

respectively. He won his second Olympic medal (silver) at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London.

Life after rowing

Since retiring from rowing, Purchase has taken part in a number of public events and TV shows, including ''

Who Wants To Be A Millionaire ''Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?'' (often informally called ''Millionaire'') is an international television game show franchise of British origin, created by David Briggs, Mike Whitehill and Steven Knight. In its format, currently owned and l ...

'', ''

Friday Night with Jonathan Ross ''Friday Night with Jonathan Ross'' is a British chat show presented by Jonathan Ross and broadcast on BBC One between 2001 and 2010. The programme features Ross' take on current topics of conversation, guest interviews (usually three per show) ...

'', ''

Ready Steady Cook ''Ready Steady Cook'' is a BBC daytime TV cooking game show. It debuted on 24 October 1994 and the last original edition was broadcast on 2 February 2010. The programme was hosted by Fern Britton from 1994 until 2000 when celebrity chef Ainsley ...

'', ''

Three Men in a Boat ''Three Men in a Boat (To Say Nothing of the Dog)'',The Penguin edition punctuates the title differently: ''Three Men in a Boat: To Say Nothing of the Dog!'' published in 1889, is a humorous account by English writer Jerome K. Jerome of a tw ...

'' and ''

A Question of Sport ''Question of Sport'' (previously ''A Question of Sport'') is a British television sports quiz show produced and broadcast by the BBC. It is the "world's longest running TV sports quiz". Following a pilot episode in December 1968, broadcast on ...

''. On 27 November 2008, Zac Purchase officially named an eight rowing boat at

The King's School, Worcester The King's School, Worcester is an English independent day school refounded by Henry VIII in 1541. It occupies a site adjacent to Worcester Cathedral on the banks of the River Severn in the centre of the city of Worcester. It offers mixed-sex ma ...

in honour of his Olympic Gold Medal win. He regularly gives motivational speeches and hosts away days for businesses, schools and charities. He is also a qualified Personal Trainer.

Personal life

Purchase was appointed

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 o ...

(MBE) in the 2009 New Year Honours for services to sport and collected his award in June of that year. Purchase married long-term partner Felicity Purchase-Hill (née Hill), also a former pupil and rower at the

, shortly after the 2012 Summer Olympics at St Paul's Cathedral in London. The wedding was covered by ''

Hello ''Hello'' is a salutation or greeting in the English language. It is first attested in writing from 1826. Early uses ''Hello'', with that spelling, was used in publications in the U.S. as early as the 18 October 1826 edition of the '' Norwich ...

''. They have two daughters, born in 2015 & 2018.

Achievements

Olympics

*2012

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

– Silver, Lightweight Double Scull (bow) *2008

– Gold, Lightweight Double Scull (bow)

World Championships

*2011

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 ...

– Gold, Lightweight Double Scull (bow) with Mark Hunter *2010

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 ...

– Gold, Lightweight Double Scull (bow) *2007

– Bronze, Lightweight Double Scull (bow) *2006 Eton – Gold, Lightweight Single Scull *2005 Gifu – Silver, Lightweight Single Scull *2005

– Gold, Lightweight Single Scull (U23 World Championships)

World Cups

*2012 Belgrade – Gold, Lightweight Double Scull (bow) *2010

– Gold, Lightweight Single Scull *2008

Poznań Poznań () is a city on the River Warta in west-central Poland, within the Greater Poland region. The city is an important cultural and business centre, and one of Poland's most populous regions with many regional customs such as Saint Joh ...

– Gold, Lightweight Double Scull (bow) *2008 Lucerne – Gold, Lightweight Double Scull (bow) *2008

– Gold, Lightweight Double Scull (bow) *2007 Lucerne – Bronze, Lightweight Double Scull (bow) *2007

– Silver, Lightweight Double Scull (bow) *2007

Linz Linz ( , ; cs, Linec) is the capital of Upper Austria and third-largest city in Austria. In the north of the country, it is on the Danube south of the Czech border. In 2018, the population was 204,846. In 2009, it was a European Capital ...

– Silver, Lightweight Double Scull (bow) *2006 Lucerne – Gold, Lightweight Single Scull *2005

– Silver, Lightweight Single Scull *2005 Eton – 4th, Lightweight Single Scull

World Under 23 Championships

*2005

– Gold, Lightweight Single Scull

GB Rowing Team Senior Trials

*2011 – 1st, Lightweight Single Scull *2010 – 1st, Lightweight Single Scull *2007 – 1st, Lightweight Single Scull

2009 New Years Honours

* MBE, Services to Sport

References

External links

* ZacPurchase.co

{{DEFAULTSORT:Purchase, Zac English male rowers British male rowers 1986 births Sportspeople from Cheltenham Living people Olympic rowers of Great Britain Rowers at the 2008 Summer Olympics Rowers at the 2012 Summer Olympics English Olympic medallists Olympic gold medallists for Great Britain Olympic silver medallists for Great Britain Members of the Order of the British Empire People educated at King's School, Worcester Olympic medalists in rowing Medalists at the 2012 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 2008 Summer Olympics World Rowing Championships medalists for Great Britain