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Thomas Ford (rower)

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Thomas Ford
Personal information
NationalityBritish
Born (1992-10-03) 3 October 1992 (age 32)
Holmes Chapel, England
Height1.90 m (6 ft 3 in)
Sport
CountryGreat Britain
SportRowing
Event(s)Coxless four, Eight
ClubLeander Club
Medal record
Men's rowing
Representing  Great Britain
Olympic Games
Gold medal – first place 2024 Paris Eight
Bronze medal – third place 2020 Tokyo Eight
World Championships
Gold medal – first place 2022 Račice Eight
Gold medal – first place 2023 Belgrade Eight
Bronze medal – third place 2018 Plovdiv Coxless four
Bronze medal – third place 2019 Ottensheim Eight
European Championships
Gold medal – first place 2021 Varese Eight
Gold medal – first place 2022 Oberschleißheim Eight
Gold medal – first place 2023 Bled Eight
Gold medal – first place 2024 Szeged Eight
Silver medal – second place 2018 Glasgow Coxless four
Silver medal – second place 2019 Lucerne Eight

Thomas Ford (born 3 October 1992) is a British national representative rower.[1] He is an Olympic and two-time world champion in the men's eight event.[2]

Club and varsity rowing

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Ford was rowing for the Newcastle University Boat Club when he first represented for GB at the U23 level. Following graduation he joined the Leander Club.[1] At the 2016 Henley Royal Regatta in a Leander crew he rowed to victory in the Ladies' Challenge Plate for men's intermediate eights.[1]

In 2022, he won the Grand Challenge Cup (the blue riband event at the Henley Royal Regatta) stroking a composite Leander/Oxford Brookes crew. In 2023 again in Leander Club colours he stroked a Leander/Oxford Brookes eight to another Grand Challenge Cup victory.[3]

International representative career

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Ford made his representative debut for Great Britain in the men's U23 eight which raced at the 2013 U23 World Rowing Championships in Ottensheim.[4] That crew finished overall sixth. In 2014 he again made selection in the GB eight for the U23 World Championships.[4]

In 2017 Ford moved into the Great Britain men's senior squad and raced in the eight at World Rowing Cups I & III and at that year's European Championships. At the 2017 World Rowing Championships he raced a coxed pair with Timothy Clarke and steered by Harry Brightmore to an overall fourth placing.[4]

With Jacob Dawson, Adam Neill and James Johnston, Ford held a seat in the Great Britain coxless four in the 2018 international season and won a bronze medal at the 2018 World Rowing Championships in Plovdiv, Bulgaria,[5] Ford won a silver medal in the British eight at the 2019 European Rowing Championships[6] and then won bronze at the 2019 World Rowing Championships in Ottensheim, Austria in the eight with Thomas George, James Rudkin, Josh Bugajski, Moe Sbihi, Jacob Dawson, Oliver Wynne-Griffith, Matthew Tarrant and Henry Fieldman.[7]

In 2021, he won a European gold medal in the eight in Varese, Italy.[8] [9] At that year's delayed 2020 Tokyo Olympics Ford stroked the Great Britain men's eight. They finished 3rd their heat but proceeded through a repechage to make the Olympic final. In the final they rowed level with the ultimate winner New Zealand at each mark but finished with a bronze medal being pipped for silver in the last 500m by the fast finishing German crew.[4]

Ford became a world champion stroking the British eight to victory at the 2022 World Rowing Championships. He had earlier that season won gold at the 2022 European Rowing Championships.[10] In 2023 he won a second successive World Championship gold medal again as the strokeman in the men's eight at the 2023 World Rowing Championships in Belgrade.[11]

He won a gold medal as part of the Great Britain eight at the 2024 Summer Olympics.[12]

Personal life

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From Holmes Chapel in Cheshire, his sister Emily is also a British international rower and fellow Olympic medallist.[13][2]

References

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  1. ^ a b c "Profile". British Rowing. Retrieved 4 July 2023.
  2. ^ a b Ames, Nick (3 August 2024). "Team GB rowers sign off with men's eight gold and end regatta on a high". The Observer. The Guardian. Retrieved 31 August 2024.
  3. ^ "Leander, Oxford Brookes and Thames dominate at Henley Royal Regatta". British Rowing. 3 July 2023. Retrieved 4 July 2023.
  4. ^ a b c d Tom Ford at World Rowing
  5. ^ "2018 World Championship results" (PDF). World Rowing.
  6. ^ "European Rowing Championships: Great Britain men's four win gold in Lucerne". BBC Sport. BBC. 2 June 2019. Retrieved 6 June 2019.
  7. ^ "2019 Eight results" (PDF). World Rowing.
  8. ^ "Men's Double Sculls Final A (Final)". World Rowing. Retrieved 11 June 2021.
  9. ^ "Men's Eight Final FA (Final)". World Rowing. Retrieved 11 June 2021.
  10. ^ "European Championships Munich 2022: GB win four rowing gold medals". BBC. 13 August 2022. Retrieved 11 September 2022.
  11. ^ "Catch-up: World Rowing Championships Finals: GB wins Gold in Men's Eight". BBC Sport. 9 September 2023. Retrieved 18 September 2023.
  12. ^ "Britain's men win gold and women bronze in eights". BBC Sport. Retrieved 3 August 2024.
  13. ^ Ramos, Davinia; Horsburgh, Lynette (21 May 2024). "Brother and sister rowers aim for Olympics". BBC News. Retrieved 22 May 2024.
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