Alan Blair Thompson (born 14 June 1959) is a

sprint canoeist Canoe sprint is a water sport in which athletes race in specially designed sprint canoes or sprint kayaks on calm water over a short distance. Prior to November 2008, canoe sprint was known as flatwater racing. The term is still in use today ...

who competed in the early to mid-1980s. He competed at three Olympic Games (1980–1988) and won two Olympic gold medals for New Zealand. Thompson was born in 1959 in Gisborne, New Zealand. He attended Te Hapara Primary School, Gisborne Intermediate and

Gisborne Boys' High School Gisborne Boys' High School is a boys' secondary school situated in Gisborne, New Zealand. It was founded as a co-educational school in 1909 as Gisborne High School. In 1956, the school became Gisborne Boys' High School when it was split into two ...

. and played rugby union for his high school. He was also selected for the under-18 North Island rugby team. Thompson attended his first

Summer Olympics The Summer Olympic Games, also known as the Summer Olympics or the Games of the Olympiad, is a major international multi-sport event normally held once every four years. The inaugural Games took place in 1896 in Athens, then part of the King ...

in 1980 in Moscow and was part of the small New Zealand team of just four athletes that attended that year, as most western athletes stayed away due to the boycott that year. In the K-2 500 metres, Thompson and Geoff Walker were eliminated in the semi-final. In the K-4 1000 metres, Thompson's team did not start. Thompson competed at six

ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships The ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships are an international event in canoe racing, one of two top-tier Summer Olympic sport events organized by the International Canoe Federation (the other being the ICF Canoe Slalom World Championships). They ...

between 1981 and 1987 and won three medals; two silvers (K-1 1000 m and K-2 500 m: both

1982 Events January * January 1 – In Malaysia and Singapore, clocks are adjusted to the same time zone, UTC+8 (GMT+8.00). * January 13 – Air Florida Flight 90 crashes shortly after takeoff into the 14th Street Bridge in Washington, D.C. ...

), and a bronze (K-1 1000 m:

1983 1983 saw both the official beginning of the Internet and the first mobile cellular telephone call. Events January * January 1 – The migration of the ARPANET to TCP/IP is officially completed (this is considered to be the beginning of the ...

). He won both of his Olympic gold medals at

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

1984 Events January * January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888. * January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeas ...

, in the K-1 1000 m and K-4 1000 m events. Thompson is one of the few New Zealanders to have won two or more

Olympic gold medal Olympic or Olympics may refer to Sports Competitions * Olympic Games, international multi-sport event held since 1896 ** Summer Olympic Games ** Winter Olympic Games * Ancient Olympic Games, ancient multi-sport event held in Olympia, Greece bet ...

s. He went to his third Olympics in 1988 in

Seoul Seoul, officially Seoul Special Metropolitan City, is the capital city, capital and largest city of South Korea. The broader Seoul Metropolitan Area, encompassing Seoul, Gyeonggi Province and Incheon, emerged as the world's List of cities b ...

, Korea, and came sixth in the K-1 1000 m. After retiring from top-level canoeing Thompson became a coach, selector and manager for New Zealand canoeing teams and eventually became president of the New Zealand Canoeing Federation. He is self-employed in Gisborne. Thompson is married to Australian Olympic

Elizabeth Blencowe Elizabeth Blencowe Thompson (born 10 January 1961) is an Australian sprint canoeist who competed in the mid-1980s. At the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, she finished eighth in the K-1 500 m event. She is married to New Zealand Olympic kaya ...

.https://www.eastland.nz/2017/04/24/olympian-cyclone-eastland-port-help-kayakers-go-gold/ "An Olympian, a cyclone, and Eastland Port, help kayakers go for gold!", Eastland Group, April 24, 2017

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* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Thompson, Alan 1959 births Canoeists at the 1980 Summer Olympics Canoeists at the 1984 Summer Olympics Canoeists at the 1988 Summer Olympics Living people New Zealand male canoeists Olympic canoeists for New Zealand Olympic gold medalists for New Zealand Sportspeople from Gisborne, New Zealand Olympic medalists in canoeing ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships medalists in kayak Medalists at the 1984 Summer Olympics People educated at Gisborne Boys' High School 20th-century New Zealand sportsmen