Seán Joseph Drea (born 3 March 1947) is a former Olympic

rower Rowing, often called crew in the United States, is the sport of racing boats using oars. It differs from paddling sports in that rowing oars (called blades in the United Kingdom) are attached to the boat using rowlocks, while paddles are ...

and world record holder from Ireland, specialising in the

single scull A single scull (or a scull), abbreviated as a 1x, is a racing shell designed for a single person who propels the boat with two oars, one in each hand. Racing boats (often called "shells") are long, narrow, and broadly semi-circular in cross-se ...

. He won the

Diamond Challenge Sculls The Diamond Challenge Sculls is a Rowing (sport), rowing event for men's single sculls at the annual Henley Royal Regatta on the River Thames at Henley-on-Thames in England. First run in 1844, it is open to male scullers from all eligible rowin ...

(the premier singles sculls event) three years in a row at the

Henley Royal Regatta Henley Royal Regatta (or Henley Regatta, its original name pre-dating Royal patronage) is a Rowing (sport), rowing event held annually on the River Thames by the town of Henley-on-Thames, England. It was established on 26 March 1839. It diffe ...

, where he set the course record, and was the first Irish rower to win a World Championship medal securing silver in the 1975

World Championships A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game ...

Biography

Drea lives in Greystones, and is originally from

Bagenalstown Bagenalstown ( ), officially named Muine Bheag (), is a small town on the River Barrow in County Carlow, Ireland. History and name In the eight century, Saint Lappan reputedly founded a monastic school outside Bagenalstown in the townland ...

County Carlow County Carlow ( ; ) is a Counties of Ireland, county located in the Southern Region, Ireland, Southern Region of Ireland, within the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster. Carlow is the List of Irish counties by area, second smallest and t ...

. He tried many sports before joining

Neptune Rowing Club Neptune Rowing Club, founded in 1908, is located on the River Liffey at Islandbridge, Dublin. It is one of the largest clubs in Ireland. The club is a member of the Dublin Metropolitan group of clubs which operates a boat house on the reservoir ...

after moving to Dublin to work in advertising. He later moved to

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

, where he attended St. Joseph's University on a sports scholarship and also rowed for

Vesper Boat Club The Vesper Boat Club is an amateur rowing club located at #10 Boathouse Row in the historic Boathouse Row of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1865 as the Washington Barge Club, the club's name was changed to Vesper Boat Club in 1870. ...

. He lost to

Aleksandr Timoshinin Aleksandr Ivanovich Timoshinin (, 20 May 1948 – 26 November 2021) was a Russian Rowing (sport), rower. Biography Born in Moscow, he later competed for the Soviet Union in the 1968 Summer Olympics and in the 1972 Summer Olympics. At the 196 ...

in the final of the 1972 Diamond Sculls when the steering fin broke off his boat. At the 1972 Olympics, he came seventh. In 1974, he won the U.S. national championships, and was the favorite for the World Championships in

Rotsee __NOTOC__ The Rotsee (previously known as Rootsee) is a natural Rowing (sport), rowing lake on the northern edge of Lucerne, Switzerland. It is regarded as one of the best rowing venues in the world. Description and location The lake and its sur ...

; however he withdrew for an emergency

kidney stone Kidney stone disease (known as nephrolithiasis, renal calculus disease, or urolithiasis) is a crystallopathy and occurs when there are too many minerals in the urine and not enough liquid or hydration. This imbalance causes tiny pieces of cr ...

removal. At the 1975 World Championships, he finished second to

Peter-Michael Kolbe Peter-Michael Kolbe (; 2 August 1953 – 8 December 2023) was a German rower who specialized in the single sculls. In this event, between 1975 and 1988 he won five world titles and three Olympic silver medals, in 1976, 1984, and 1988; he missed ...

. At the 1976 Olympics, he broke the 2000 m

world record A world record is usually the best global and most important performance that is ever recorded and officially verified in a specific skill, sport, or other kind of activity. The book ''Guinness World Records'' and other world records organizatio ...

in the semi-final with a time of 6:52.46. However, he finished fourth in the final after a poor third quarter. Drea spent years in Philadelphia as a coach for the US national team,

Fairmount Rowing Association Fairmount Rowing Association is an amateur rowing club, founded in 1877. The facility, located at #2 Boathouse Row in the historic Boathouse Row of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, is on the National Register of Historic Places. Fairmount originall ...

La Salle University La Salle University () is a private university, private, Catholic university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. The university was founded in 1863 by the Institute of the Brothers of the Christian Schools and named for St. Jean-Bapt ...

and subsequently the Irish National team. He also rowed in the

Head of the River Race The Head of the River Race (HORR) is an against-the-clock ('processional') rowing race held annually on the River Thames in London, England, between eights, other such races being the Schools' Head of the River Race, Women's Head of the River R ...

in 1997 with a veteran

Schuylkill Navy The Schuylkill Navy is an association of amateur rowing (sport), rowing clubs of Philadelphia. Founded in 1858, it is the oldest amateur athletic governing body in the United States. The member clubs are all on the Schuylkill River where it flows ...

crew. Today, Drea lives in Greystones, County Wicklow, Ireland and runs an organic farming business. Sean's son Jack Drea rowed for

Oxford Brookes University Oxford Brookes University (OBU; formerly known as Oxford Polytechnic) is a public university, public university in Oxford, England. It is a new university, having received university status through the Further and Higher Education Act 1992. Th ...

and won the Temple Challenge Cup at Henley Royal Regatta in 2006 and competed in the Ladies Challenge Plate in a Oxford Brookes & Oxford University composite in 2007. Jack also represented Ireland in rowing. Sean’s eldest son David Drea rowed for Trinity College Dublin.

Record

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Drea, Sean 1947 births Living people Irish male rowers Olympic rowers for Ireland Organic farmers Rowers at the 1972 Summer Olympics Rowers at the 1976 Summer Olympics Saint Joseph's University alumni Sportspeople from County Carlow World Rowing Championships medalists for Ireland People from Bagenalstown 20th-century Irish sportsmen