Clyde Hefer (born 12 April 1961) is an Australian former rower - a two-time World Champion and Olympic medal winner.

Club and state rowing

Hefer's senior rowing was with the Drummoyne Rowing Club in Sydney. At the

Australian Rowing Championships The Australian Rowing Championships is an annual rowing event that determines Australia's national rowing champions and facilitates selection of Australian representative crews for World Championships and the Olympic Games. It is Australia's pre ...

in 1979 he won a national championship title in a lightweight M4- with his brother Gary, Geoff Webb and Graeme Wearne. In 1980

Graham Gardiner Graham Gardiner is an Australian former lightweight rowing, lightweight rower. He is a two-time World Champion. Club and state rowing Gardiner's commenced his senior rowing with the Glebe Rowing Club and competed in a men's junior Coxed four, 4+ ...

joined Hefer at Drummoyne and at that year's nationals Hefer won two Australian championship titles - the lightweight M2- with

Gardiner Gardiner may refer to: Places Settlements ;Canada * Gardiner, Ontario ;United States * Gardiner, Maine * Gardiner, Montana * Gardiner (town), New York ** Gardiner (CDP), New York * Gardiner, Oregon * Gardiner, Washington * West Gardiner, ...

and the lightweight M4- with Gardiner, Wearne and Michael Smith. In 1981 in those same two crews Hefer again raced for those same titles but this time representing the Balmain Rowing Club and both to 2nd place. From 1982 Hefer was racing in the open weight division and was back at the Drummoyne Rowing Club from 1984 under coach

Rusty Robertson Russell Robertson (1927 – 17 February 1990), known as Rusty Robertson, was a New Zealand-born, world class rowing coach of New Zealand and later, Australian national representative rowing crews. He was the national rowing coach of New Zealand ...

. He was selected in New South Wales

King's Cup King's Cup (incl. translations), may refer to: Sports Football * Copa del Rey, Spanish for "King's Cup," the main national knockout tournament in men's football * King's Cup (Bahrain), the premier national knockout football tournament * King's ...

crews of 1982, 1983 (at stroke) and in the victorious crew of 1984.

National representative rowing

Hefer was selected for Australian representative honours in a LM4- for the

1980 World Rowing Championships The 1980 World Rowing Championships were World Rowing Championships that were held in August 1980 at Hazewinkel in Heindonk, Belgium. Since 1980 was an Olympic year for rowing, the World Championships did not include the 14 Olympic classes sch ...

Hazewinkel The Hazewinkel is a 2000-meter rowing and regatta course belonging to Sport Vlaanderen in Heindonk, municipality of Willebroek, near Mechelen, Belgium. The site consists of a finish tower, boathouses, a cafeteria, and eight basic huts that ho ...

- a lightweight only championship being an Olympic year. With Gardiner he'd vied for top national honours throughout 1980 against the Victorian pair of Charles Bartlett and Simon Gillett. New Australian National Coaching Director

Reinhold Batschi Reinhold Batschi OAM (born 20 August 1942 in Sânpetru, Brașov County, Romania) is a former Romanian rower and leading Australian rowing coach. He was the inaugural Head Coach of the Australian Institute of Sport's rowing program and Head Coa ...

had just introduced a small boat racing selection methodology and the choice of the two competitively matched pairs to comprise the Australian IV was clear. The crew took the gold medal and won Australia's second lightweight World Championship title. The following year in the same crew, Hefer raced at the

1981 World Rowing Championships The 1981 World Rowing Championships were World Rowing Championships that were held from 30 August to 6 September 1981 at Oberschleißheim Regatta Course in Oberschleißheim near Munich, West Germany. Medal summary Men's events Women's events ...

Munich Munich is the capital and most populous city of Bavaria, Germany. As of 30 November 2024, its population was 1,604,384, making it the third-largest city in Germany after Berlin and Hamburg. Munich is the largest city in Germany that is no ...

and they successfully defended their title. In 1984 Hefer along with half of the champion New South Wales Kings Cup crew were selected in the Olympic VIII for

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, ...

. Coached by

, stroked by Steve Evans and with Hefer in the two seat they brought home the bronze medal.

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Hefer, Clyde 1961 births Living people Australian male rowers Rowers at the 1984 Summer Olympics Olympic bronze medalists for Australia Olympic medalists in rowing World Rowing Championships medalists for Australia Medalists at the 1984 Summer Olympics 20th-century Australian sportsmen Place of birth missing (living people)