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Seán Drea

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Seán Drea
Drea with his 1976 Holland Beker trophy at Bosbaan
Personal information
Born (1947-03-02) 2 March 1947 (age 77)
Bagnalstown, Ireland[1]
Height1.90 m (6 ft 3 in)
Weight98 kg (216 lb)
Sport
SportRowing
ClubNeptune Rowing Club, Dublin
Medal record
Men's rowing
Representing  Ireland
World Rowing Championships
Silver medal – second place 1975 Nottingham Single sculls

Seán Joseph Drea (born 3 March 1947[2]) is a former Olympic rower and world record holder from Ireland, specialising in the single scull. He won the Diamond Challenge Sculls (the premier singles sculls event) three years in a row at the Henley Royal Regatta, 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.[1][3]

Biography

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Drea lives in Greystones,[4] and is originally from Bagenalstown, County Carlow. He tried many sports before joining Neptune Rowing Club after moving to Dublin to work[4] in advertising. He later moved to Philadelphia, where he attended St. Joseph's University on a sports scholarship and also rowed for Vesper Boat Club. He lost to Aleksandr Timoshinin in the final of the 1972 Diamond Sculls when the steering fin broke off his boat.[5] At the 1972 Olympics, he came seventh.[2][6] In 1974, he won the U.S. national championships,[7] and was the favorite for the World Championships in Rotsee;[8] however he withdrew for an emergency kidney stone removal.[6][9][10] At the 1975 World Championships, he finished second to Peter-Michael Kolbe.[9] At the 1976 Olympics, he broke the 2000 m world record in the semi-final with a time of 6:52.46.[2][6] However, he finished fourth in the final after a poor third quarter.[2][6]

Drea spent years in Philadelphia as a coach for the US national team,[11] Fairmount Rowing Association, La Salle University and subsequently the Irish National team. He also rowed in the Head of the River Race in 1997 with a veteran Schuylkill Navy crew.[12] Today, Drea lives in Greystones, County Wicklow, Ireland and runs an organic farming business.

Sean's son Jack Drea rowed for Oxford Brookes University[13] 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

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Year Event Place Ref
1970 Henley QF [14]
1970 Worlds 12 [15]
1972 Henley 2 [5]
1972 Olympics 7 [2]
1973 Henley 1 [16]
1974 Henley 1 [16]
1975 Henley 1 [16]
1975 Worlds 2 [9]
1976 Olympics 4 [2]

References

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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Seán Drea.
  1. ^ a b Sean DREA at World Rowing
  2. ^ a b c d e f Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Seán Drea". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 18 April 2020. Retrieved 23 February 2010.
  3. ^ "Rudern – Weltmeisterschaften. Einer – Herren" [Rowing – World Championships. One – Men]. Sport-Komplett.de (in German). Archived from the original on 6 January 2015.
  4. ^ a b "Sean Drea calls on Carlow stars to believe". Carlow Nationalist. 11 February 2009. Retrieved 25 February 2010.
  5. ^ a b "Harvard Lightweight Crew and Kent Eight Capture Cups at Henley Regatta; Drea is defeated in Diamond Sculls". New York Times. 2 July 1972. p. S5. Retrieved 25 February 2010.
  6. ^ a b c d Watterson, Johnny (14 August 2000). "Olympic Evolution: Number 4 – Rowing". The Irish Times. Retrieved 25 February 2010.
  7. ^ "A Roundup Of The Week Aug. 12–18". Sports Illustrated. 26 August 1974. Archived from the original on 4 June 2011.
  8. ^ "A Roundup Of The Week Sept. 2–8". Sports Illustrated. 16 September 1975. Archived from the original on 18 July 2012.
  9. ^ a b c "...but Not In Nottingham". Sports Illustrated. 8 September 1975. Archived from the original on 18 July 2012.
  10. ^ "Surgery for Drea". The Spokesman-Review. Spokane, Washington. 9 September 1974. p. 25. Retrieved 25 February 2010.
  11. ^ Silverberg, Lee (19 May 2008). "A Very Brief History of the Fairmount Rowing Association". Fairmount Rowing Association. Retrieved 6 January 2015.
  12. ^ Matheson, Hugh (22 March 1997). "Rowing: Redgrave and Pinsent pair up". The Independent. London. Retrieved 25 February 2010.
  13. ^ Dodd, Christopher (1 July 2004). "Rowing: Brookes boat beats Dublin as wind takes toll on crews". The Independent. Retrieved 25 February 2010.
  14. ^ "Penn, Dartmouth lose their races; English Crews Triumph in Grand Challenge Event Arlett Bows in Sculling". New York Times. 3 July 1970. Retrieved 25 February 2010.
  15. ^ "World Rowing". New York Times. 6 September 1970. p. 121 Sports. Retrieved 25 February 2010.
  16. ^ a b c Hildes-Heim, Norman (31 August 1975). "East German Oarsmen Capture 5 of 8 World Titles at Regatta". New York Times. p. 168. Retrieved 25 February 2010. ...Diamond sculls at the Henley Royal Regatta in July which Drea won for the third consecutive time
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