(Francis) Benedict Hunt-Davis MBE (born 15 March 1972) is a former British

competition rower Rowing, sometimes called crew in the United States, is the sport of racing boats using oars. It differs from paddling sports in that rowing oars are attached to the boat using oarlocks, while paddles are not connected to the boat. Rowing i ...

and an Olympic champion. He 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 contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established ...

in the 2001 New Year Honours list.

Early life

Hunt-Davis was educated at

Shiplake College ("The Example Teaches") , established = 1959 , type = Public schoolIndependent day and boarding , religious_affiliation = Church of England , head_label = Headmaster , head ...

Henley-on-Thames Henley-on-Thames ( ) is a town and civil parish on the River Thames in Oxfordshire, England, northeast of Reading, west of Maidenhead, southeast of Oxford and west of London (by road), near the tripoint of Oxfordshire, Berkshire and ...

in Oxfordshire. He is the son of Anita and

Miles Hunt-Davis Brigadier Sir Miles Garth Hunt-Davis, (7 November 1938 – 23 May 2018) was a British Army officer who was also the Private Secretary to The Duke of Edinburgh from 1993 until 2010. Early life and education Miles Hunt-Davis was born in Johanne ...

, a British Army officer.

Rowing career

Hunt-Davis competed at the 1992 Barcelona games and the 1996 Atlanta games, and won a silver medal in the 1999 World Rowing Championships. He won a gold medal in the Men's VIIIs at the

2000 Summer Olympics The 2000 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXVII Olympiad and also known as Sydney 2000 ( Dharug: ''Gadigal 2000''), the Millennium Olympic Games or the Games of the New Millennium, was an international multi-sport event held from ...

in Sydney, as a member of the British rowing team, the first British crew to have won this event since 1912.

Life after rowing

Hunt-Davis is a keynote speaker and performance coach, and owns a leadership development company, Will It Make The Boat Go Faster? Ltd with Tom Barry. He has also worked for the

British Olympic Association The British Olympic Association (BOA) is the National Olympic Committee for the United Kingdom. It is responsible for organising and overseeing the participation of athletes from the Great Britain and Northern Ireland Olympic Team, at both ...

, and was the Chairman of the 2011 World Rowing Junior Championships and Chairman of the Organising Committee for the 2013 World Rowing Cup at Eton Dorney. He co-authored ''Will It Make The Boat Go Faster?'' with Harriet Beveridge. On 27 July 2012, Hunt-Davis was one of the crew of the ''

Gloriana ''Gloriana'', Op. 53, is an opera in three acts by Benjamin Britten to an English libretto by William Plomer, based on Lytton Strachey's 1928 ''Elizabeth and Essex: A Tragic History''. The first performance was presented at the Royal Opera Ho ...

'' which rowed with the

Olympic Torch The Olympic flame is a symbol used in the Olympic movement. It is also a symbol of continuity between ancient and modern games. Several months before the Olympic Games, the Olympic flame is lit at Olympia, Greece. This ceremony starts the Olymp ...

from Hampton Court Palace to Westminster Bridge. Hunt-Davis married Isabella (née Parish) in 2000; they have three children.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hunt-Davis, Ben 1972 births English male rowers Olympic rowers of Great Britain Rowers at the 1992 Summer Olympics Rowers at the 1996 Summer Olympics Rowers at the 2000 Summer Olympics English Olympic medallists Olympic gold medallists for Great Britain Stewards of Henley Royal Regatta Living people Olympic medalists in rowing People educated at Shiplake College World Rowing Championships medalists for Great Britain Medalists at the 2000 Summer Olympics