Garry Gerard Paul Herbert (b. 3 October 1969) is an

Olympic 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 ...

gold medal-winning

cox Cox or COX may refer to: Companies * Cox Enterprises, a media and communications company ** Cox Communications, cable provider ** Cox Media Group, a company that owns television and radio stations ** Cox Automotive, an Atlanta-based busines ...

. He steered the British

coxed pair A coxed pair, abbreviated as a 2+, is a racing shell used in the rowing (sport), sport of competitive rowing. It is designed for two persons who propel the boat with sweep (rowing), sweep oars and is steered by a coxswain (rowing), coxswain (cox ...

(brothers

Jonny Jonny is a masculine given name, and pet name, in the English language. A pet form of Jon, the natural diminutive of given name Jonathan, in some cases it can also mean a condom. A variant form of ''Jonny'' is ''Jonnie''. People with the name * ...

and

Greg Searle Gregory Mark Pascoe Searle (born 20 March 1972) is a British Olympic rower educated at Hampton School and London South Bank University. Career Greg Searle is an Olympic gold medalist, winning the coxed pairs event at the 1992 Barcelona Olympic ...

) to victory in the

1992 Barcelona Olympics The 1992 Summer Olympics (, ), officially the Games of the XXV Olympiad (, ) and officially branded as Barcelona '92, were an international multi-sport event held from 25 July to 9 August 1992 in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. Beginning in 1994 ...

(the last time this event was included in the Olympic rowing programme) and the 1993

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 ...

. His tears of emotion at the medal presentation, with the taller Searle brothers smiling behind him, became an iconic image in Britain. Born in London, he studied there at

Cardinal Vaughan Memorial School The Cardinal Vaughan Memorial School is a Roman Catholic secondary school and sixth form in Holland Park, London, England, with approximately 1,030 students. History After the 1903 death of the third Archbishop of Westminster, Herbert, ...

, and at the

University of Reading The University of Reading is a public research university in Reading, Berkshire, England. It was founded in 1892 as the University Extension College, Reading, an extension college of Christchurch College, Oxford, and became University College, ...

, then trained as a

barrister A barrister is a type of lawyer in common law jurisdiction (area), jurisdictions. Barristers mostly specialise in courtroom advocacy and litigation. Their tasks include arguing cases in courts and tribunals, drafting legal pleadings, jurisprud ...

. He is now a banker and a commentator for the

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

as well as a

motivational speaker A motivational speaker (or inspirational speaker) is a speaker who makes speeches intended to motivate or inspire an audience. Such speakers may attempt to challenge or transform their audiences. The speech itself is popularly known as a pep ta ...

. During the

2012 Summer Olympics torch relay The 2012 Summer Olympics torch relay was run from 19 May until 27 July, prior to the 2012 Summer Olympics, London 2012 Summer Olympics. The torch bearer selection process was announced on 18 May 2011. As well as touring the United Kingdom the ...

, he was chosen to cox the boat carrying

Steve Redgrave Sir Steven Geoffrey Redgrave (born 23 March 1962) is a British retired rower who won gold medals at five consecutive Olympic Games from 1984 to 2000. He has also won three Commonwealth Games gold medals and nine World Rowing Championships golds ...

holding the Torch down the

River Thames The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the The Isis, River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the Longest rivers of the United Kingdom, s ...

at Henley.

References

1969 births Alumni of the University of Reading People from Lewisham Sportspeople from the London Borough of Lewisham English male rowers British male rowers British motivational speakers British coxswains (rowing) Sports commentators English Olympic competitors Olympic gold medallists for Great Britain Rowers at the 1992 Summer Olympics Rowers at the 1996 Summer Olympics Living people Members of the Order of the British Empire Olympic medalists in rowing People educated at Cardinal Vaughan Memorial School Medalists at the 1992 Summer Olympics World Rowing Championships medalists for Great Britain {{UK-rowing-bio-stub