David G. H. Townsend (born 28 August 1955) is a

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

rower Rowing, often called crew in the United States, is the sport of racing boats using oars. It differs from paddling sports in that rowing oars (called blades in the United Kingdom) are attached to the boat using rowlocks, while paddles are ...

who competed in the

1976 Summer Olympics The 1976 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XXI Olympiad () and officially branded as Montreal 1976 (), were an international multi-sport event held from July 17 to August 1, 1976, in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Montreal ...

and in the

1980 Summer Olympics The 1980 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XXII Olympiad () and officially branded as Moscow 1980 (), were an international multi-sport event held from 19 July to 3 August 1980 in Moscow, Soviet Union, in present-day Russ ...

Rowing career

Townsend was part of the eight that at the

1975 World Rowing Championships The 1975 World Rowing Championships was the fifth World Rowing Championships. It was held from 21 to 30 August at Holme Pierrepont National Watersports Centre in Nottingham, England, United Kingdom. Medal summary Medalists at the 1975 World ...

in Nottingham, the crew finished 9th overall after a third-place finish in the B final. The following year he was a crew member of the British boat which finished twelfth in the coxless four event at the 1976 Olympic Games. In 1978 along with John Beattie, Ian McNuff, and Martin Cross, he was a member of the British coxless four boat, coached by David Tanner which won the bronze medal in the

World Rowing Championships The World Rowing Championships is an international Rowing (sport), rowing regatta organized by International Rowing Federation, FISA (the International Rowing Federation). It is a week-long event held at the end of the northern hemisphere summer ...

Lake Karapiro Lake Karapiro () is an artificial reservoir lake on the Waikato River at Karapiro, south-east of Cambridge, New Zealand, Cambridge in New Zealand's North Island. The lake was formed in 1947 by the damming of the Waikato River to store water for ...

, New Zealand behind Russia and East Germany. The following year in 1979 along with John Beattie, Ian McNuff and Martin Cross he was a member of the British coxless four boat which won the bronze medal in the World Rowing Championships at Bled, Yugoslavia behind East Germany and Czechoslovakia. Coached by David Tanner In the 1980 Moscow Olympics along with John Beattie, Ian McNuff and Martin Cross he was a crew member of the British boat (again coached by David Tanner) which won the bronze medal in the Olympic coxless fours event behind East Germany and Russia.

References

1955 births Living people British male rowers Olympic rowers for Great Britain Rowers at the 1976 Summer Olympics Rowers at the 1980 Summer Olympics Olympic bronze medallists for Great Britain Olympic medalists in rowing Medalists at the 1980 Summer Olympics World Rowing Championships medalists for Great Britain People educated at King's School, Worcester {{UK-rowing-bio-stub