Derek Holland (born 14 January 1974 in

Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...

) is an Irish rower and secondary school teacher at

Enniskillen Royal Grammar School Enniskillen Royal Grammar School, located in Enniskillen, County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland, is an academically selective, co-educational, non-denominational voluntary grammar school. The school opened its doors on 1 September 2016. Two forme ...

. He reached fourth place at the

1996 Summer Olympics The 1996 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXVI Olympiad, also known as Atlanta 1996 and commonly referred to as the Centennial Olympic Games) were an international multi-sport event held from July 19 to August 4, 1996, in Atlanta, ...

in the Men's Lightweight Coxless Fours.

Early life

Derek Holland was born on 14 January 1974 in Dublin in

County Dublin County Dublin ( or ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland, and holds its capital city, Dublin. It is located on the island's east coast, within the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster. Until 1994, County Dubli ...

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

. Holland was introduced to rowing in 1987 aged around thirteen by his dad John Holland.

Rowing career

Olympic games

When Derek Holland was 22, he won 4th in the Lightweight Men's Four at the

1996 Olympic Games The 1996 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXVI Olympiad, also known as Atlanta 1996 and commonly referred to as the Centennial Olympic Games) were an international multi-sport event held from July 19 to August 4, 1996, in Atlanta, ...

held in

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...

, United States.

World Championships

In 1989, Holland was selected for the Irish Junior team at the 1989 World Rowing Junior Championships held in

Szeged Szeged ( , ; see also #Etymology, other alternative names) is List of cities and towns of Hungary#Largest cities in Hungary, the third largest city of Hungary, the largest city and regional centre of the Southern Great Plain and the county seat ...

, Hungary, and won 4th in the junior eight sculls. Derek Holland also competed in the 1995 World Rowing Championships in

Tampere Tampere is a city in Finland and the regional capital of Pirkanmaa. It is located in the Finnish Lakeland. The population of Tampere is approximately , while the metropolitan area has a population of approximately . It is the most populous mu ...

, Finland, coming first in the Lightweight Men's Four. Holland also competed in the 1996 World Rowing Championships in

Glasgow Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...

, Great Britain, coming third in the Lightweight Men's Eight. In 1998 Derek competed in the 1998 World Rowing Championships which took place in

Cologne Cologne ( ; ; ) is the largest city of the States of Germany, German state of North Rhine-Westphalia and the List of cities in Germany by population, fourth-most populous city of Germany with nearly 1.1 million inhabitants in the city pr ...

, Germany, he got silver in the Lightweight Men's Four.

World Rowing Cups

In 1997 Derek competed in the 1997 World Rowing Cup II which took place in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

, France, he placed 6th in the Lightweight Men's Four.

Achievements

World Championship A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game ...

medals: 4 gold, 6 silver, 5 bronze

Olympic Games

* 1996 – 4th, Coxless Four (with Sam Lynch, Tony O'Connor)

World Rowing Championships

* 2004 – Silver, Coxless Pair (with Neil Casey) * 2004 – 4th, Coxless Pair (with Neil Casey) * 2004 – 6th, Coxless Pair (with Neil Casey) * 2003 – Silver, Coxless Pair (with Neil Casey) * 2003 – Bronze, Coxless Pair (with Neil Casey) * 2003 – 5th, Coxless Pair (with Neil Casey) * 2002 – Gold, Coxless Four (with Neil Casey, Paul Griffin, Richard Archibald) * 2002 – Gold, Coxless Four (with Neil Casey, Paul Griffin, Richard Archibald) * 2002 – Silver, Coxless Four (with Neil Casey, Paul Griffin, Richard Archibald) * 2002 – 4th, Coxless Four (with Neil Casey, Paul Griffin, Richard Archibald) * 2001 – Silver, Coxless Four (with Neal Byrne, Owen Byrne, Noel Monahan) * 2001 – Bronze, Coxless Four (with Neal Byrne, Owen Byrne, Noel Monahan) * 2001 – 4th, Coxless Four (with Neal Byrne, Owen Byrne, Noel Monahan) * 2000 – Bronze, Coxless Four (with James Lindsay-Fynn, John Armstrong, Noel Monahan) * 2000 – 4th, Coxless Four (with James Lindsay-Fynn, John Armstrong, Noel Monahan) * 2000 – 5th, Coxless Four (with James Lindsay-Fynn, John Armstrong, Noel Monahan) * 2000 – 6th, Coxless Four (with James Lindsay-Fynn, John Armstrong, Noel Monahan) * 1999 – Gold, Coxless Pair (with Niall O'Toole) * 1999 – Silver, Coxless Pair (with Niall O'Toole) * 1999 – Bronze, Coxless Pair (with Niall O'Toole) * 1999 – 6th, Coxless Pair (with Niall O'Toole) * 1998 – Silver, Coxless Four (with Neville Maxwell, Tony O'Connor, Brendan Dolan) * 1996 – Bronze, Eight (with Sam Lynch, Peter Brady, Keith Flynn, Eoin Whelan, Adrian Smith, Paul Flannery, John Forde, Malachy McGlynn) * 1995 – Gold, Coxless Four (with Sam Lynch, Conor Moloney, Paul Flannery)

Junior World Rowing Championships

* 1989 – Eight (with Angus Woods, Manus Crowley, Colm O'Rourke, Owen Diviney, Eugene McCarthy, Peter Collins, Brian Collins, Tom Colsh)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Holland, Derek 1974 births Living people Irish male rowers Rowers from Dublin (city) Rowers at the 1996 Summer Olympics Olympic rowers for Ireland 20th-century Irish people