Henry Kent Mitchell II (born March 29, 1939) is a retired American rowing coxswain. He competed in the

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 ...

s at the 1960 and 1964 Olympics and won a bronze and a gold medal, respectively. He was a law student at the

UC Berkeley School of Law The University of California, Berkeley School of Law (Berkeley Law) is the Law school in the United States, law school of the University of California, Berkeley. The school was commonly referred to as "Boalt Hall" for many years, although it was ...

at the time. He won a bronze medal in the same event in

1960 It is also known as the "Year of Africa" because of major events—particularly the independence of seventeen African nations—that focused global attention on the continent and intensified feelings of Pan-Africanism. Events January * Janu ...

while an undergraduate at

Stanford University Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University, is a Private university, private research university in Stanford, California, United States. It was founded in 1885 by railroad magnate Leland Stanford (the eighth ...

(class of 1961). Only two other Americans have coxed two crews to Olympic medals. He also coxed Stanford to two national championships, in 1961 and 1962. Following graduation from law school in 1965 he practiced law in

Palo Alto, California Palo Alto ( ; Spanish language, Spanish for ) is a charter city in northwestern Santa Clara County, California, United States, in the San Francisco Bay Area, named after a Sequoia sempervirens, coastal redwood tree known as El Palo Alto. Th ...

. He also set up and leads the Kent Mitchell Rowing Club, an elite masters competitive organization composed mostly of former national or Olympic champions. He also served three terms as mayor of

Portola Valley, California Portola Valley is an incorporated List of municipalities in California, town in San Mateo County, California, United States. Located on the San Francisco Peninsula in the San Francisco Bay Area, Bay Area, Portola Valley is a small, wealthy com ...

. He is in the Stanford University Hall of Fame and the National Rowing Hall of Fame.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mitchell, Kent 1939 births Living people American coxswains (rowing) Rowers at the 1960 Summer Olympics Rowers at the 1964 Summer Olympics Olympic gold medalists for the United States in rowing Olympic bronze medalists for the United States in rowing Stanford Cardinal men's rowers UC Berkeley School of Law alumni Stanford University alumni Sportspeople from Albany, New York People from Portola Valley, California Sportspeople from San Mateo County, California American male rowers Medalists at the 1964 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 1960 Summer Olympics Mayors of places in California 20th-century American sportsmen