Mark Andrew Doyle (born 29 May 1963) is an Australian former national champion, World Champion, Olympian and Commonwealth Games gold medal-winning rower.

Club and state rowing

Doyle was born in Melbourne and commenced his rowing career at

Xavier College Xavier College is a Roman Catholic, day and boarding school predominantly for boys, founded in 1872 by the Society of Jesus, with its main campus located in Kew, an eastern suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Classes started in 1878. The ...

. His senior rowing was with

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 ...

where his father Brian Doyle was a club stalwart and coach. Doyle represented Victoria at the

Australian Rowing Championships The Australian Rowing Championships is an annual rowing event that determines Australia's national rowing champions and facilitates selection of Australian representative crews for World Championships and the Olympic Games. It is Australia's pre ...

in the men's Interstate Eight-Oared Championship – the King's Cup on six occasions from 1982 to 1988. He was in consecutive winning Victorian crews from 1985 to 1988. In Mercantile colours he contested national championship titles at the Australian Rowing Championships on various occasions. He raced for the coxed four title in 1983, and both the men's pair and coxed four in 1982, 1984, 1985, 1986 and 1987. He won the 1986 Australian coxed four championship in a Mercantile crew with his older brother

David David (; , "beloved one") was a king of ancient Israel and Judah and the third king of the United Monarchy, according to the Hebrew Bible and Old Testament. The Tel Dan stele, an Aramaic-inscribed stone erected by a king of Aram-Dam ...

International representative rowing

Doyle's first national representative selection was to the 1982 Match des Seniors in Vienna, Austria – the equivalent at the time of today's

World Rowing U23 Championships World Rowing U23 Championships is an international rowing regatta Boat racing is a sport in which boats, or other types of watercraft, race on water. Boat racing powered by oars is recorded as having occurred in ancient Egypt, and it is ...

. Doyle rowed in the

coxless pair A coxless pair, abbreviated as a 2- and also known as a straight pair, is a racing shell used in the sport of competitive rowing. It is designed for two rowers, who propel the boat with sweep oars. The crew consists of a pair of rowers, each ...

with his brother David to a gold medal victory. Doyle's first senior representative selection was to

1986 World Rowing Championships The 1986 World Rowing Championships were World Rowing Championships that were held from 17 to 24 August 1986 at Nottingham in the United Kingdom. Medal summary Looking at the open weight classes only, East Germany was the most successful nation ...

Nottingham, England Nottingham ( , locally ) is a city and unitary authority area in Nottinghamshire, East Midlands, England. It is located south-east of Sheffield and north-east of Birmingham. Nottingham is the legendary home of Robin Hood and to the lace-maki ...

. He rowed in the two seat of the victorious Australian 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 ...

. It was Australia's first and only World Championship title in the men's VIII. That same year at the

1986 Commonwealth Games The 1986 Commonwealth Games were held in Edinburgh, Scotland, between 24 July and 2 August 1986. This was the second Commonwealth Games to be held in Edinburgh. Thirty two of the eligible fifty nine countries (largely African, Asian and Caribbe ...

in Edinburgh, in that same crew Doyle won gold in the Australian men's VIII. Doyle also rowed in a

coxed four A coxed four, abbreviated as a 4+, is a racing shell used in the sport of competitive rowing. It is designed for four persons who propel the boat with sweep oars and is steered by a coxswain. The crew consists of four rowers, each having one ...

to a bronze medal at those same games. At the

1987 World Rowing Championships The 1987 World Rowing Championships were World Rowing Championships that were held from 29 to 30 August 1987 in Copenhagen, Denmark while it was "outrageously windy". Medal summary Medalists at the 1987 World Rowing Championships were: Men's ...

in Copenhagen Doyle was again in the five seat of Australian eight. That crew placed fourth. For the

1988 Summer Olympics The 1988 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIV Olympiad () and officially branded as Seoul 1988 (), were an international multi-sport event held from 17 September to 2 October 1988 in Seoul, South Korea. 159 nations were represe ...

in Seoul, Doyle rowed in the five seat of the men's eight to a fifth placing.

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Doyle, Mark 1963 births Australian male rowers Rowers at the 1988 Summer Olympics Living people World Rowing Championships medalists for Australia Commonwealth Games gold medallists for Australia Commonwealth Games gold medallists in rowing Commonwealth Games rowers for Australia Rowers at the 1986 Commonwealth Games Olympic rowers for Australia Medallists at the 1986 Commonwealth Games 20th-century Australian sportsmen Rowers from Melbourne Sportsmen from Victoria (state) People educated at Xavier College