David R Anderson
Leichhardt Rowing Club (NSW)
David was part of the famous Professor Cotton 'Guinea Pigs" who trialed successfully innovative training, coaching and ergometre testing. Prof Frank Cotton (refer his rower profile) was in many ways the father of sports medicine and exercise physiology in Australia. A good example of this was the creation in his laboratory of what he called the ‘ergometer’ for measuring work output by subjects under controlled conditions.
By 1949, he began an association with Leichhardt Rowing Club with a group of "unknowns" chosen for their physique and ergometre testing results. These "Guinea Pigs", as they were then known, included David who was one of the original four oarsmen in this group. They progressed with great speed through to winning State Championships fours in the junior and senior categories in 1950. From there is was Interstate Championships emergency in 1950, Trans Tasman racing in 1951 and Olympic Games medalist in 1952. There David stayed at the top of the rowing world through to 1957 when he retired. The rapid initial rise through to senior rowing was as a result of good selection of rowers through ergometre testing and other innovation in training methods.
The experimentation did not always work. As Ian Stewart records in the rower profile of Cotton, the Leichhardt four of Harrison, Maxim, Greenwood and Anderson was to compete in the Empire Games trials set down for 3 December 1949 on Lake Wendouree in Victoria. The crew had decided to use bigger oars on the day of the test race, oars designed by crew-member John Harrison. Dave Anderson remembers the event clearly: The big oars were not a good idea as we were beaten by Haberfield, one of whom told us later that after we had beaten them each time we had raced them in Sydney they only went to Ballarat because they had paid their expenses well in advance. The Haberfield crew went to the 1950 Empire Games and came away with a silver medal.
The Leichardt Rowing Club history Rowing on with Leichhardt by Merle Kavanagh published by the Club in 2006 summarises David career as follows: Was the most prominent of any club oarsman interstate and internationally. Rowed King's Cup in 1950-1957; Olympics 1952, 1956; Henley 1952; New Zealand 1951.
David died in Wollongong on 5th November 2025, aged 93.
1952 Grand Challenge competitors at Henley Royal Regatta - David in four seat
Rowing highlights
1948 - AAGPS Head of the River, Sydney High School First VIII, six seat - First
1950 – Interstate Men’s Eight Championship two seat - First
1951 – Interstate Men’s Eight Championship emergency
1951 – Trans Tasman
1952 – Interstate Men’s Eight Championship emergency
1952 - Olympic Games - Men’s Eight four seat – Bronze
1952 – Henley Royal – Grand Challenge four seat
1953 – Interstate Men’s Eight Championships stroke - Second
1954 – Interstate Men’s Eight Championship six seat - Second
1954 – British Empire & Commonwealth Games – Men’s Coxed Four stroke – Gold
1954 – British Empire &Commonwealth Games – Men’s Coxless Pair stroke - Bronze
1955 – Interstate Men’s Eight Championship stroke - Third
1956 – Interstate Men’s Eight Championship six seat - Second
1956 - Olympic Games - Men’s Coxless Four stroke - eliminated in semi final
1957 – Interstate Men’s Eight Championship six seat - Second
David stroking the 1956 Olympic coxless four
Andrew Guerin
May 2020 (updated November 2025 upon the death of David)
Sources
- Rowing on with Leichhardt by Merle Kavanagh, published by the Leichhardt Rowing Club Inc and The Leichhardt Union of Ex-Rowers, in 2006
- Ian Stewart's rower profile on Professor Cotton - this website
- Images from the Guerin collection - 1952 image originally restored by crew members. Portrait image from Barry Anderson.
- Results from this website