James Guthrie Howden (4 September 1934 – 10 October 1993) was an Australian representative

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 a bronze medal at the

1956 Summer Olympics The 1956 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XVI Olympiad and officially branded as Melbourne 1956, were an international multi-sport event held in Melbourne, Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia, from 22 November to 8 December ...

and represented at the

1962 World Rowing Championships The 1962 World Rowing Championships were the inaugural world championships in rowing. The competition was held in September 1962 on the Rotsee in Lucerne, Switzerland. Rowers from West Germany dominated the competition, winning five of the sev ...

Rowing career

Club and state

Howden was raised in

Point Lonsdale Point Lonsdale is a town on the Bellarine Peninsula, near Queenscliff, Victoria, Australia. The town is divided between the Borough of Queenscliffe and the City of Greater Geelong. Point Lonsdale is also one of the headlands which, with Poin ...

in Victoria, Australia. He was educated at

Geelong Grammar School Geelong Grammar School is a private Anglican co-educational boarding and day school. The school's main campus is located in Corio on the northern outskirts of Geelong, Victoria, Australia, overlooking Corio Bay and Limeburners Bay. Establ ...

where he took up rowing and at

Ormond College Ormond College is the largest of the residential colleges of the University of Melbourne located in the city of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. It is home to around 350 undergraduates, 90 graduates and 35 professorial and academic residents. H ...

at the University of Melbourne. His senior rowing was with the Yarra Yarra Rowing Club, the

Melbourne University Boat Club Melbourne University Boat Club is a rowing club in Melbourne, Australia. Its clubhouse or "boat shed" is listed on the Victorian Heritage Register in 2000. According its website, the club claims to be "the oldest rowing club in Australia". In 2015, ...

. In later life he joined the

Mercantile Rowing Club The Mercantile Rowing Club is based in Melbourne, Australia on the Yarra River. It was founded in 1880 and has occupied its current site since 1885. More than 40 Mercantillians have represented Australia at Olympic Games. Club history A group of ...

.Howden Profile at Austn Rowing History
/ref> He first made state selection for Victoria in 1956 in the men's eight which contested and won the

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 ...

at the annual Australian Interstate Regatta. He raced in two further Victorian King's Cup eights in 1959 and 1960.

International representative

In 1956 for the

Melbourne Olympics The 1956 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XVI Olympiad and officially branded as Melbourne 1956, were an international multi-sport event held in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, from 22 November to 8 December 1956, with the excepti ...

the winning

Kings 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 ...

Victorian eight was selected as the Australian men's eight excepting for the 3 seat – Benfield from New South Wales. Howden rowed in the four seat of the Australian eight in their Olympic campaign to a thrilling final where the Australian eight took it to the US and Canadian crews and came away with a bronze medal.Howden at World Rowing
/ref> In 1962 Howden was the stroke of a Victorian coxed four which was selected to race for Australia at the inaugural World Rowing Championships in Lucerne. They placed fifth overall.

Selector

Howden was an Australian rowing team selector from 1976 to 1980. He was on selection panels for squads for the

Montreal 1976 The 1976 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XXI Olympiad () and officially branded as Montreal 1976 (), were an international multi-sport event held from July 17 to August 1, 1976, in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Montreal w ...

and the

Moscow 1980 The 1980 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XXII Olympiad () and officially branded as Moscow 1980 (), were an international multi-sport event held from 19 July to 3 August 1980 in Moscow, Soviet Union, in present-day Russ ...

Olympics and the 1977,1978 and

1979 World Rowing Championships The 1979 World Rowing Championships were World Rowing Championships that were held from 30 August – 9 September 1979 at Bled in Slovenia, Yugoslavia. Medal summary Men's events Women's events Medal table This table does not include th ...

. He was the

Rowing Australia Rowing Australia (RA) is the governing body for the sport of rowing in Australia. Established in 1925, it is the only organisation recognised by the Federation Internationale des Societies d’Aviron (FISA), the Australian Sports Commission ...

Chairman of Selectors in 1979 when the decision was made to appoint a full-time national coach in

Reinhold Batschi Reinhold Batschi OAM (born 20 August 1942 in Sânpetru, Brașov County, Romania) is a former Romanian rower and leading Australian rowing coach. He was the inaugural Head Coach of the Australian Institute of Sport's rowing program and Head Coa ...

Professional career and personal

Howden was a lawyer and was appointed as a Victorian County Court judge in 1985.Howden profile at Geelong Grammar
/ref> He was diagnosed with a malignant melanoma in 1986 and died from that affliction in 1993.

References

External links

Biography of Jim Howden
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Howden, Jim 1934 births 1993 deaths Australian male rowers Olympic rowers for Australia Rowers at the 1956 Summer Olympics Olympic bronze medalists for Australia Olympic medalists in rowing Medalists at the 1956 Summer Olympics Place of birth missing People educated at Geelong Grammar School 20th-century Australian sportsmen