Francis Hegerty (born 22 September 1982, in

Canberra Canberra ( ; ) is the capital city of Australia. Founded following the Federation of Australia, federation of the colonies of Australia as the seat of government for the new nation, it is Australia's list of cities in Australia, largest in ...

) is a former

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

n rower - a national champion and a dual Olympian.

Education

Hegerty started his rowing at first at

Daramalan College Daramalan College is a Roman Catholic high school in Canberra, Australia, located in the suburb of Dickson. It encompasses Year 7 to Year 12, in a co-educational environment. Run by the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart, it has an emblem of a re ...

in Canberra and then at

St Joseph's College, Hunters Hill St Joseph's College (abbreviated as SJC and commonly called ''Joeys'') is an independent Catholic secondary day and boarding school for boys, conducted in the Marist Brothers tradition, located in Hunters Hill, a suburb on the Lower North Sh ...

. He was a member of the St Joseph's first VIII which placed 2nd at the 1999 AAGPS Head of the River. The following year, Hegerty stroked the school's first VIII to a 3rd-place finish in the 2000 AAGPS Head of the River. After finishing school, Hegerty completed a Bachelor of Commerce at the

University of Sydney The University of Sydney (USYD) is a public university, public research university in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in both Australia and Oceania. One of Australia's six sandstone universities, it was one of the ...

and joined

Sydney University Boat Club Sydney University Boat Club is the rowing club in Sydney, Australia with the oldest charter having been formed in 1860 by the founders of the University of Sydney. It has had a boatshed presence in various locations on Sydney Harbour since 1886, ...

Club and state rowing

He first represented New South Wales at state level in the youth eight placing fifth in 2001 and then he achieved a fourth placing in 2002. Hegerty made his New South Wales senior debut in 2003, racing in his first

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 ...

to second place behind Victoria. He represented New South Wales in the King's Cup on eight occasions - 2003, 2005–2008, 2011–2013, winning the event four times in 2008, 2011, 2012 and 2013.

National representative rowing

He made his first Australian team in 2002, placing 4th in the men's

eight 8 (eight) is the natural number following 7 and preceding 9. Etymology English ''eight'', from Old English '', æhta'', Proto-Germanic ''*ahto'' is a direct continuation of Proto-Indo-European '' *oḱtṓ(w)-'', and as such cognate wi ...

at the 2002 Nations Cup (now World Under 23 Rowing Championships) in

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Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

. The following year he was again a member of the Australian under 23 men's eight, which this time won a bronze medal at the 2003 Nations Cup in

Belgrade Belgrade is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Serbia, largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers and at the crossroads of the Pannonian Basin, Pannonian Plain and the Balkan Peninsula. T ...

Serbia , image_flag = Flag of Serbia.svg , national_motto = , image_coat = Coat of arms of Serbia.svg , national_anthem = () , image_map = , map_caption = Location of Serbia (gree ...

. His senior national team debut was at the

2006 World Rowing Championships The 2006 World Rowing Championships were World Rowing Championships that were held from 20 to 27 August 2006 at Dorney Lake, Dorney, Great Britain. Medal summary Men Non-Olympic classes Women Non-Olympic classes Pararowing The Pararowi ...

Eton Dorney Dorney Lake (also known as Eton College Rowing Centre, and as Eton Dorney as a 2012 Summer Olympics venue) is a purpose-built Rowing (sport), rowing lake and Meetings & Events Venue in England. It is near the village of Dorney, Buckinghamshire, ...

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

. Hegerty stroked the Men's Four which placed 3rd in the C Final to place 15th. In 2007, Hegerty was again selected in the Men's Four who placed 12th at the 2007 World Rowing Championships at

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 ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

. This placing wasn't sufficient for the boat to initially qualify for the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games. In 2008, Hegerty was again selected in the Men's Coxless Four, this time with Matt Ryan, James Marburg and Cameron McKenzie-McHarg. The crew won their event at the first world cup regatta in

Lucerne Lucerne ( ) or Luzern ()Other languages: ; ; ; . is a city in central Switzerland, in the Languages of Switzerland, German-speaking portion of the country. Lucerne is the capital of the canton of Lucerne and part of the Lucerne (district), di ...

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. The crew then turned their attention to the Olympic Qualification Regatta in Poznan. Ryan was struck down by illness and had to be replaced for the race by fellow Sydney University Boat Club member Terrence Alfred and the crew achieved qualification for the Olympic Games. In Beijing, the crew led for a large part of the race before placing second behind the race favourites from Great Britain to take the silver medal. Hegerty was selected in an unchanged Men's Coxless Four for the

2009 World Rowing Championships The 2009 World Rowing Championships were World Rowing Championships that were held from 23 to 30 August 2009 at Lake Malta, Poznań, Poland. The annual week-long rowing regatta was organized by FISA (the International Rowing Federation), and hel ...

in Poznan,

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

and won a silver medal. In 2010 Hegerty moved in the Australian Men's Eight which won a bronze medal at the

2010 World Rowing Championships The 2010 World Rowing Championships were World Rowing Championships that were held from 31 October to 7 November 2010 on Lake Karapiro near Cambridge, New Zealand, Cambridge, New Zealand. The annual week-long rowing (sport), rowing regatta was or ...

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 New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

. He followed this up with a 4th placing in the Men's Eight at the 2011 World Rowing Championships in Bled, Slovenia. In

London 2012 The 2012 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012, were an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...

he rowed in the Australian men's eight which placed 6th.

References

The Official Website of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hegerty, Francis Living people Australian male rowers Olympic silver medalists for Australia Olympic rowers for Australia Rowers at the 2008 Summer Olympics Rowers at the 2012 Summer Olympics Sportspeople from Canberra People educated at St Joseph's College, Hunters Hill 1982 births Olympic medalists in rowing Medalists at the 2008 Summer Olympics World Rowing Championships medalists for Australia 21st-century Australian sportsmen University of Sydney alumni