Rowland George

Rowland David George (born January 15, 1905 in Bath , † September 9, 1997 in Henley-on-Thames ) was a British rower .

Rowland George had failed to qualify for the Boat Race while studying at the University of Oxford . After graduating, he worked for a paper company in Bristol. In 1929 his company sent him to London, where he started rowing again. In 1930 he joined the Thames Rowing Club , in 1931 he won the Henley Royal Regatta in a four-man without a helmsman , and in 1932 in a four-man with a helmsman . In both years he lost with the eighth .

For the 1932 Olympic Games in Los Angeles, the British federation nominated the four-man without a helmsman with John Badcock , Hugh Edwards , Jack Beresford and Rowland George. The British won their first heat against the Americans and against the Germans, but both of the losing boats also reached the final via the hope run. There the British won the gold medal with almost five seconds ahead of the Germans and the Italians.

During World War II , George joined the Royal Air Force and was there in the equipment department because he was too old for pilot training. By the end of the war he rose to lieutenant colonel. In 1943 he was awarded the OBE order . After landing in Salerno , he was the first - and probably only - member of the equipment department to be awarded the Distinguished Service Order .

Web links

• Rowland George in the Sports-Reference database (English; archived from the original )

literature

• Karl Lennartz , Wolf Reinhardt, Ralph Schlueter: The Games of the X. Olympiad 1932 in Lake Placid and Los Angeles . Agon Sportverlag, Kassel 2015, ISBN 978-3-89784-406-3 , pp. 249-250