Edward R. Coode, MBE (born 19 June 1975) is a British rower, twice World Champion and Olympic Gold medalist.

Early life

Born in

Cornwall Cornwall (; or ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is also one of the Celtic nations and the homeland of the Cornish people. The county is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, ...

in 1975, Coode boarded at Papplewick School and

Eton College Eton College ( ) is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school providing boarding school, boarding education for boys aged 13–18, in the small town of Eton, Berkshire, Eton, in Berkshire, in the United Kingdom. It has educated Prime Mini ...

. He studied marine biology at

University of Newcastle upon Tyne Newcastle University (legally the University of Newcastle upon Tyne) is a public university, public research university based in Newcastle upon Tyne, England. It has overseas campuses in Singapore and Malaysia. The university is a red brick un ...

and Keble College,

Oxford Oxford () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and non-metropolitan district in Oxfordshire, England, of which it is the county town. The city is home to the University of Oxford, the List of oldest universities in continuou ...

, and rowed in the Oxford crew at the 1998 Boat Race.

Career

Coode won his first World Championship in 1999, as a substitute in the British men's coxless four, rowing with Steve Redgrave, Matthew Pinsent and James Cracknell. When Tim Foster returned to the four, Coode was put into the coxless pair with Greg Searle. They finished fourth at the 2000 Sydney Olympics having led for most of the race and being overtaken by three crews in the last 600 m, finishing 12/100th of a second (about 2 feet) out of third place. In 2001, he won a second World Championship in the men's coxless four with Steve Williams, Rick Dunn and Toby Garbett. In 2002, he missed the World Championships due to injury, Josh West taking his place in the coxless four, and was in the men's eight in 2003 that won the bronze at that year's world championships. With the injury to Alex Partridge, Coode was moved from the eight to the coxless four for the

2004 Summer Olympics The 2004 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad (), and officially branded as Athens 2004 (), were an international multi-sport event held from 13 to 29 August 2004 in Athens, Greece. The Games saw 10,625 athletes ...

in Athens, rowing with Pinsent, Cracknell and Williams. In a close race with World champions Canada, they won gold.

Retirement

In October 2004, Coode announced he was retiring from rowing – taking a year out to travel in South America and then study for a law degree at

University of the West of England The University of the West of England (also known as UWE Bristol) is a Public university, public research university, located in and around Bristol, England, UK. With more than 39,912 students and 4,300 staff, it is the largest provider of hi ...

in Bristol. Following two years at university he spent two years as a trainee solicitor at Bristol firm Burges Salmon and returned to Cornwall, where his family has had business interests and owned land since the 19th century. He joined the family-founded law firm Coodes Solicitors and left in 2022 to run the estate management business. In 2025 he was appointed chair of the Country Land and Business Association Cornwall branch.

Personal life

Coode 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 valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

(MBE) in the

2005 New Year Honours New Year Honours were granted in the United Kingdom and New Zealand at the start of 2005. Among these in the UK were knighthoods awarded to Mike Tomlinson, the educationalist; Derek Wanless, who led a review of the National Health Service; ...

for services to sport."New Year Honours--United Kingdom"
''The London Gazette of Thursday 30 December 2004 Supplement No. 1''; accessed 28 August 2022. On 17 September 2005 Coode married Clare Smales in the St Mary's and St Julian's Church, Maker, Cornwall. They have four children.

Achievements

* Olympic Medals: 1 Gold *

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: 2 Gold, 2 Bronze * Junior World Championship Medals: 1 Silver *

Oxford University The University of Oxford is a collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the second-oldest continuously operating u ...

Blue Boat (lost)

Olympic Games

*2004 – Gold, Coxless four (with James Cracknell, Steve Williams, Matthew Pinsent) *2000 – 4th, Coxless pair (with Greg Searle)

World championships

*2003 – Bronze, Eight *2001 – Gold, Coxless four (with Steve Williams, Rick Dunn, Toby Garbett) *1999 – Gold, Coxless four (with Steve Redgrave, Matthew Pinsent, James Cracknell) *1998 – 7th, Eight *1997 – Bronze, Coxed four

Junior World championships

*1993 – Silver, Coxless four

References

External links

Ed Coode – The London Speaker Bureau
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Coode, Ed 1975 births Living people English male rowers British male rowers Olympic rowers for Great Britain Rowers at the 2000 Summer Olympics Rowers at the 2004 Summer Olympics English Olympic competitors Olympic gold medallists for Great Britain People educated at Papplewick School People educated at Eton College Alumni of Newcastle University Alumni of Keble College, Oxford Members of the Order of the British Empire Members of Leander Club Sportspeople from Cornwall Oxford University Boat Club rowers Olympic medalists in rowing Medalists at the 2004 Summer Olympics World Rowing Championships medalists for Great Britain