Richard John Joyce (born 1 May 1946) is a former New Zealand

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 won two Olympic gold medals during his career. Joyce was born in 1946 in

Wellington Wellington is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the third-largest city in New Zealand (second largest in the North Island ...

, New Zealand. For the

1968 Summer Olympics The 1968 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XIX Olympiad () and officially branded as Mexico 1968 (), were an international multi-sport event held from 12 to 27 October 1968, in Mexico City, Mexico. These were the first Ol ...

, New Zealand qualified an eight and had a pool of four rowers and a cox as a travelling reserve; Joyce was part of this reserve. Preparations were held in

Christchurch Christchurch (; ) is the largest city in the South Island and the List of cities in New Zealand, second-largest city by urban area population in New Zealand. Christchurch has an urban population of , and a metropolitan population of over hal ...

at Kerr's Reach on the Avon River. The reserve rowers were unhappy with the "spare parts" tag and felt that they were good enough to perhaps win a medal if put forward as a coxed four. The manager,

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 ...

, commented about them that they were "the funniest looking crew you've ever seen". There were stern discussions with the New Zealand selectors. In a training run, the coxed four was leading the eight over the whole race. In the end, the reserve rowers got their way and New Zealand entered both the coxed four and the eight. Joyce won the Olympic coxed four event along with

Dudley Storey Dudley Leonard Storey (27 November 1939 – 6 March 2017) was a New Zealand rower who won two Olympic medals. Rowing career Storey was born in 1939 in Wairoa, New Zealand. After having received an invitation to the Henley Royal Regatta, he w ...

, Ross Collinge, Warren Cole and

Simon Dickie Simon Charles Dickie (31 March 1951 – 13 December 2017) was a New Zealand rowing cox who won three Olympic medals. Dickie was born in 1951 in Waverley in Taranaki, New Zealand. He was educated at Wanganui Collegiate School where he was par ...

(cox); this was New Zealand's first gold medal in rowing. He was 22 and had just finished his mechanical engineering degree. The crew's boat was sold to a rowing club to recoup costs, and ended up in splinters after a road crash. At the

1972 Summer Olympics The 1972 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XX Olympiad () and officially branded as Munich 1972 (; ), were an international multi-sport event held in Munich, West Germany, from 26 August to 11 September 1972. It was the ...

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 ...

he teamed with

Tony Hurt Anthony John Hurt (born 30 March 1946) is a former New Zealand rower who won two Olympic medals. At the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich, he teamed with Dick Joyce, Wybo Veldman, John Hunter, Lindsay Wilson, Joe Earl, Trevor Coker and Gar ...

Wybo Veldman Gerard Wybo Veldman (born 21 October 1946), known as Wybo Veldman, is a former New Zealand rower. Born in Padang, Indonesia, of Dutch parents, he won an Olympic gold medal at the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich. He teamed with Dick Joyce, Tony ...

John Hunter John Hunter may refer to: Politics *John Hunter (British politician) (1724–1802), British Member of Parliament for Leominster * John Hunter (Canadian politician) (1909–1993), Canadian Liberal MP for Parkdale, 1949–1957 *Sir John Hunter ( ...

, Lindsay Wilson,

Joe Earl Athol John "Joe" Earl (born 1 October 1952) is a former New Zealand rower who won two Olympic medals. Earl was born in 1952 in Christchurch and grew up on a farm in Hawarden in North Canterbury. He received his education at St. Andrew's Coll ...

, Trevor Coker, Gary Robertson and

(cox) to win the eights. Joyce is one of only fifteen New Zealanders to have won two or more

Olympic gold medal Olympic or Olympics may refer to Sports Competitions * Olympic Games, international multi-sport event held since 1896 ** Summer Olympic Games ** Winter Olympic Games * Ancient Olympic Games, ancient multi-sport event held in Olympia, Greece bet ...

s. He later owned an engineering business in

Seaview Seaview or Sea View may refer to: Places * Clifton Beach, Karachi, also known as Sea View, a beach in Pakistan * Sea View, Dorset, a suburb in England * Seaview, Isle of Wight, a small village in England * Seaview, Lower Hutt, an industrial subur ...

, an

industrial suburb An industrial suburb is a community, near a large city, with an industrial economy. These communities may be established as tax havens or as places where zoning promotes industry, or they may be industrial towns that become suburbs by urban ...

Lower Hutt Lower Hutt () is a list of cities in New Zealand, city in the Wellington Region of New Zealand. Administered by the Hutt City Council, it is one of the four cities that constitute the Wellington#Wellington metropolitan area, Wellington metropoli ...

. He has always been associated with the Hutt Valley and belongs to the Hutt Valley club, but has moved and as of 2012 lived in

Porirua Porirua, () a list of cities in New Zealand, city in the Wellington Region of the North Island of New Zealand, is one of the four cities that constitute the Wellington#Wellington metropolitan area, Wellington metropolitan area. The name 'Poriru ...

. He is a life member of Wellington Rowing Club and currently coaches its masters squad.

References

External links

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archive
* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Joyce, Dick 1946 births Living people New Zealand male rowers Olympic gold medalists for New Zealand in rowing Rowers at the 1968 Summer Olympics Rowers at the 1972 Summer Olympics Rowers from Wellington City World Rowing Championships medalists for New Zealand Medalists at the 1972 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 1968 Summer Olympics European Rowing Championships medalists 20th-century New Zealand sportsmen