Keith Charles Trask (born 27 November 1960) 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 an Olympic gold medal at the

1984 Summer Olympics The 1984 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXIII Olympiad and commonly known as Los Angeles 1984) were an international multi-sport event held from July 28 to August 12, 1984, in Los Angeles, California, United States. It marked the ...

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

Early life

Trask was born in 1960 in

Hastings Hastings ( ) is a seaside town and Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough in East Sussex on the south coast of England, east of Lewes and south east of London. The town gives its name to the Battle of Hastings, which took place to th ...

, New Zealand. Trask has a twin brother Paul. Their parents are Charles (died 2015) and Maureen Trask. They received their education in

; first at Mayfair School and then at Hastings Intermediate.

Rowing career

Trask was selected to compete at the

1980 Summer Olympics 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 ...

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

with the coxed four but did not compete due to the Olympics boycott. He believes that he missed out being selected for the New Zealand eight in 1982 despite being "good enough to be there"; the team went on to win gold at the

1982 World Rowing Championships The 1982 World Rowing Championships were World Rowing Championships that were held from 28 to 29 August 1982 at Rotsee in Lucerne, Switzerland. Medal summary Men's events Women's events Medal table References {{World Rowing Champi ...

Rotsee __NOTOC__ The Rotsee (previously known as Rootsee) is a natural Rowing (sport), rowing lake on the northern edge of Lucerne, Switzerland. It is regarded as one of the best rowing venues in the world. Description and location The lake and its sur ...

in Switzerland without him. In 1983, he moved from the

Hawke's Bay Hawke's Bay () is a region on the east coast of New Zealand's North Island. The region is named for Hawke Bay, which was named in honour of Edward Hawke. The region's main centres are the cities of Napier and Hastings, while the more rural ...

Auckland Auckland ( ; ) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. It has an urban population of about It is located in the greater Auckland Region, the area governed by Auckland Council, which includes outlying rural areas and ...

so that he could join the North Shore Rowing Club to increase his chances to get picked for a national team. In 1983 the crew of Conrad Robertson, Greg Johnston, Keith Trask, Les O'Connell, and Brett Hollister (cox) won the coxed four in

Duisburg Duisburg (; , ) is a city in the Ruhr metropolitan area of the western States of Germany, German state of North Rhine-Westphalia. Lying on the confluence of the Rhine (Lower Rhine) and the Ruhr (river), Ruhr rivers in the center of the Rhine-Ruh ...

at the

World Championships 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 ...

. Along with Les O'Connell, Shane O'Brien and Conrad Robertson he won gold in the

coxless four A coxless four, abbreviated as a 4- and also called a straight four, is a racing shell used in the sport of competitive rowing. It is designed for four persons who propel the boat with sweep oars, without a coxswain. The crew consists of four ...

at the

1984 Olympics The 1984 Olympics may refer to: *The 1984 Winter Olympics, which were held in Sarajevo, Yugoslavia *The 1984 Summer Olympics The 1984 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXIII Olympiad and commonly known as Los Angeles 1984) were an i ...

Lake Casitas Lake Casitas is a reservoir in Ventura County, California, built by the United States Bureau of Reclamation and completed in 1959. The project provides drinking water and water for irrigation. A secondary benefit is flood control. It was the ven ...

in California. In 1986, Trask teamed with Eric Verdonk for the pairs and became New Zealand national champion. He later was a rowing coach for the North Shore Rowing Club, and currently coaches at

Westlake Boys High School Westlake Boys High School () is a state secondary school for boys in Forrest Hill, New Zealand, Forrest Hill, Auckland, New Zealand. The school opened in 1962, when Westlake High School (opened 1958) split into Westlake Girls High School on the ...

Family and later activities

Trask is married to Serena, and they have three children (one son and two daughters) born between 1984 and 1987. They live in

, where Trask works as a carpenter. He became self employed in 1999 when he founded his company, Keith Trask Limited. In 2009, he competed in ocean swimming.

References

External links

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archive
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Team photo
of the 1984 coxless four {{DEFAULTSORT:Trask, Keith 1960 births Living people People educated at Karamu High School New Zealand male rowers Olympic gold medalists for New Zealand in rowing Medalists at the 1984 Summer Olympics Rowers at the 1984 Summer Olympics World Rowing Championships medalists for New Zealand Sportspeople from Hastings, New Zealand 20th-century New Zealand sportsmen