Alexander John Gregory, (born 11 March 1984) is an English former representative rower. He is a six-time world champion and a two-time Olympic gold medallist at

2012 2012 was designated as: *International Year of Cooperatives *International Year of Sustainable Energy for All Events January *January 4 – The Cicada 3301 internet hunt begins. * January 12 – Peaceful protests begin in the R ...

and

2016 2016 was designated as: * International Year of Pulses by the sixty-eighth session of the United Nations General Assembly. * International Year of Global Understanding (IYGU) by the International Council for Science (ICSU), the Internationa ...

in the

Coxless four A coxless four, abbreviated as a 4- and also called a straight four, is a racing shell used in the sport of competitive rowing. It is designed for four persons who propel the boat with sweep oars, without a coxswain. The crew consists of four ...

Education

Alex Gregory was educated at the Richard Pate School in Cheltenham, then Bredon Hill Middle School, a comprehensive school in Ashton under Hill, Worcestershire, followed by Prince Henry's High School in

Evesham Evesham () is a market town and Civil parishes in England, parish in the Wychavon district of Worcestershire, in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands region of England. It is located roughly equidistant between Worcester, England, Worceste ...

. He later attended the

University of Reading The University of Reading is a public research university in Reading, Berkshire, England. It was founded in 1892 as the University Extension College, Reading, an extension college of Christchurch College, Oxford, and became University College, ...

in Berkshire from which he graduated in 2006.

Career

Born in

Cheltenham Cheltenham () is a historic spa town and borough adjacent to the Cotswolds in Gloucestershire, England. Cheltenham became known as a health and holiday spa town resort following the discovery of mineral springs in 1716, and claims to be the mo ...

, Gregory gained his first GB vest in 2004 at the World Rowing U23 Championships in Poland, finishing 11th in the quad. At the World U23 Championships in 2005 he was 4th in the double and 8th in the single the following year. He has been a full member of the men's squad since his graduation from university. Gregory is also a member of the

Leander Club Leander Club, founded in 1818, is one of the oldest rowing clubs in the world, and the oldest non-academic club. It is based in Remenham in Berkshire, England and adjoins Henley-on-Thames. Only three other surviving clubs were founded prior ...

, of which he was Captain. He was selected for the

2008 Beijing Olympic Games The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and officially branded as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes fr ...

as a reserve, having narrowly missed out on qualifying the men's quad for the Games. Gregory won the pair at the GB Rowing Senior Trials in his first season in 'sweep'. He established his place in the new GB four during the 2009 World Cup Series winning two golds and a bronze to take the overall 2009 title. He was the 'rookie' in the boat, racing with three experienced Olympians, all medallists from Beijing. At the 2009 World Rowing Championships the four's main rivals were the Australian silver medal four from Beijing who had stayed together to avenge the GB victory at the Olympics. GB won the gold medal, almost two seconds ahead of Australia with Slovenia in third. At the 2011 World Rowing Championships in Bled,

Slovenia Slovenia, officially the Republic of Slovenia, is a country in Central Europe. It borders Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the south and southeast, and a short (46.6 km) coastline within the Adriati ...

, Gregory raced in the men's four with crewmates

Matt Langridge Matthew Langridge Order of the British Empire, MBE (born 20 May 1983) is a British Rowing (sport), rower. At the 2012 Summer Olympics in London he was part of the British crew that won the bronze medal in the Rowing at the 2012 Summer Olympics ...

, Richard Egington and Tom James, winning a gold medal ahead of Greece in second and Australia in third. At the 2012 GB Rowing Team Senior Trials held in March at Eton Dorney, Gregory and crew mate Alex Partridge came second in the men's pair. Pete Reed, Tom James and Andrew Triggs Hodge, who won gold in the four in Beijing, were all selected along with Gregory for the Olympic season. The four went on to win the 2012 London Olympic Games gold medal in the

Eton Dorney Dorney Lake (also known as Eton College Rowing Centre, and as Eton Dorney as a 2012 Summer Olympics venue) is a purpose-built Rowing (sport), rowing lake and Meetings & Events Venue in England. It is near the village of Dorney, Buckinghamshire, ...

. He competed at the 2013 World Rowing Championships in

Chungju Chungju () is a Administrative divisions of South Korea, city in North Chungcheong Province, South Korea. Uamsan is a mountain located within the outskirts of the city. The city is famous for the annual martial arts festival held in October. Al ...

, where he won a gold medal as part of the eight and the following year he competed at the 2014 World Rowing Championships in Bosbaan,

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , ; ; ) is the capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, largest city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It has a population of 933,680 in June 2024 within the city proper, 1,457,018 in the City Re ...

, where he won a gold medal as part of the coxless four with Moe Sbihi, George Nash and Andrew Triggs Hodge. One year later he was part of the British team that topped the medal table at the

2015 World Rowing Championships The 2015 World Rowing Championships were World Rowing Championships that were held from 30 August to 6 September 2015 at the Lac d'Aiguebelette, Aiguebelette-le-Lac in France. Description The annual week-long rowing regatta was organized by ...

at Lac d'Aiguebelette in France, where he won a gold medal as part of the eight with Matt Gotrel,

Constantine Louloudis Constantine Michael Louloudis (born 15 September 1991) is a Greek-British Rowing (sport), rower. He is an Olympic Games, Olympic medal winner, two-time World Rowing Championships, world champion and four-time The Boat Race, Boat Race winner. Pe ...

, Pete Reed, Paul Bennett, Moe Sbihi, George Nash, Will Satch and Phelan Hill.

Honours

In August 2012, to celebrate his gold medal at London 2012, post boxes were painted gold in his home town of Cheltenham. Gregory was appointed

Member of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

(MBE) in the 2013 New Year Honours for services to rowing.
Cabinet Office On 20 November 2015, Gregory was named as "Olympic Athlete of the Year" at the GB Rowing Teams awards.British Rowing, 20 November 2015, Gregory and Stanning named Olympic athletes of the Year
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References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Gregory, Alex 1984 births Living people English male rowers British male rowers Sportspeople from Cheltenham Rowers at the 2012 Summer Olympics Rowers at the 2016 Summer Olympics English Olympic competitors Olympic rowers for Great Britain Alumni of the University of Reading Olympic gold medallists for Great Britain Olympic medalists in rowing Members of the Order of the British Empire Medalists at the 2012 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 2016 Summer Olympics Members of Leander Club World Rowing Championships medalists for Great Britain European Rowing Championships medalists 21st-century English sportsmen

Education

Career

Honours

See also

References

External links