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australian rowers profiles and history

David Colvin

Mercantile Rowing Club (but earlier Banks and MUBC) (VIC)
1985 - Interstate Men's Eight Championship cox - First
1986 - Interstate Men's Eight Championship cox - First
1989 - Interstate Men's Eight Championship cox - Race not conducted due to a cyclone.
1989 - Interstate Men's Eight Challenge cox - First
1990 - Interstate Men's Eight Championship cox - First
1990 - World Championships - Men's coxed Four cox - Ninth
1991 - Interstate Men's Eight Championship cox - First
1991 - World Championships - Men's Lightweight Eight cox - Fourth
1992 - Interstate Men's Eight Championship cox - First
1992 - Olympic Games - Men's Eight cox - Fifth
1993 - Interstate Men's Eight Championship cox - First
1993 - World Championships - Men's Eight cox - Fourth
1994 - Interstate Men's Eight Championship cox - First
1995 - World Championships - Men's coxed Four cox - Fifth
1996 - Interstate Men's Eight Championship cox - First
1997 - Interstate Men's Eight Championship cox - Third
1997 - World Cup (Paris) - Men's Eight cox - First
1997 - Henley Royal Regatta - Grand Challenge Cup - First
1997 - World Championships - Men's coxed Pair cox - Silver
1997 - World Championships - Men's Eight cox - Bronze
1998 - Interstate Men's Eight Championship cox - First
1998 - World Championships - Men's Eight cox - Sixth
1999 - Interstate Men's Eight Championship cox - Second
2000 - Interstate Men's Eight Championship cox - First
2004 - Interstate Women's Lightweight Quad Championship coach - Third
2006 - Interstate Women's Lightweight Quad Championship coach - First
2007 - Interstate Women's Lightweight Quad Championship coach - Second
2008 - Interstate Women's Eight Championship co-coach with John Cumper - First
2009 - Interstate Women's Eight Championship co-coach with Bill Tait - First
2010 - Interstate Women's Eight Championship co-coach with Bill Tait - First
2011 - Interstate Women's Eight Championship co-coach with Bill Tait - First
2013 - Interstate Women's Eight Championship co-coach with Tom Abramowski - First

1997 Silver medal winning coxed pair - David right

Commenced rowing in Year 9 at Melbourne Grammar School (1976). Whilst he never managed to cox the MGS 1st VIII, he won the Second VIII at HOR 1979. David joined Banks RC during Year 11 and was coxing the Mens Senior 8 in his first season. A few years later Chris Dane arrived to coach at Banks bringing many international and state oarsman with him, including Jim Lowe, Ion Popa, Brian Richardson, and John Cumper. This is when his education in rowing really began, with Jim Lowe in the stroke seat for just about every training session as the primary teacher.

In the 1984/85 post Olympic season, the opportunity came to be selected as cox of the Victorian Kings Cup crew for the first time. After losing the Kings Cup seat in 1987, David took the 1987/88 season off for study reasons but returned for the 1988/89 season, this time at Mercantile RC due to a lack of active athletes at Banks RC at the time. He has remained at Mercs ever since. The 2000 King's Cup marked the end of his competitive coxing career, but the beginning of his highly successful involvement in club administration and coach initially as a four year Club Captain at Mercantile. During one of his years as Captain, he took a year off work to devote his entire energies to that task. He was critical to the success of the introduction of professional coaches at that Club. After two years acting purely as Club Captain, David moved into coaching during 2002/2003 and has remained involved on that front ever since, almost exclusively as a women's coach.

Andrew Guerin 2013

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