Michael John Hart MBE (born 24 October 1951) is a British former rower who competed in the

1972 Summer Olympics The 1972 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XX Olympiad () and commonly known as Munich 1972 (german: München 1972), was an international multi-sport event held in Munich, West Germany, from 26 August to 11 September 1972 ...

and in the

1976 Summer Olympics Events January * January 3 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force. * January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea. * January 11 – The 1976 Phila ...

Rowing career

Hart was at

Peterhouse, Cambridge Peterhouse is the oldest constituent college of the University of Cambridge in England, founded in 1284 by Hugh de Balsham, Bishop of Ely. Today, Peterhouse has 254 undergraduates, 116 full-time graduate students and 54 fellows. It is quite ...

and rowed in the winning

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cambridge beca ...

boat in the Boat Races in the

1972 Within the context of Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) it was the longest year ever, as two leap seconds were added during this 366-day year, an event which has not since been repeated. (If its start and end are defined using Solar time, me ...

and 1973 races, stroking the boat in 1973. In 1972, he partnered David Maxwell to finish eighth rowing at the 1972 Summer Olympics in the

coxed pair A coxed pair is a rowing boat used in the sport of competitive rowing. It is designed for two persons who propel the boat with sweep oars and is steered by a coxswain. The crew consists of two rowers, each having one oar, and a cox. One row ...

s event. In 1973 he teamed up with Chris Baillieu in the

double scull A double scull is a rowing boat used in the sport of competitive rowing. It is designed for two persons who propel the boat by sculling with two oars each, one in each hand. Racing boats (often called "shells") are long, narrow, and broadly ...

to win the Double Sculls Challenge Cup at

Henley Royal Regatta Henley Royal Regatta (or Henley Regatta, its original name pre-dating Royal patronage) is a rowing event held annually on the River Thames by the town of Henley-on-Thames, England. It was established on 26 March 1839. It differs from the thr ...

. Rowing for

Leander Club Leander Club, founded in 1818, is one of the oldest rowing clubs in the world, and the oldest non-academic club. It is based in Remenham in Berkshire, England and adjoins Henley-on-Thames. Only three other surviving clubs were founded prior t ...

, they won the event again in 1975 and in between he participated in the

1974 World Rowing Championships The 1974 World Rowing Championships was the fourth World Rowing Championships. It was held from 4 to 8 September 1974 (for men) and from 29 August to 1 September 1974 (for women) on the Rotsee in Lucerne, Switzerland. The event was significantl ...

Lucerne Lucerne ( , ; High Alemannic: ''Lozärn'') or Luzern ()Other languages: gsw, Lozärn, label= Lucerne German; it, Lucerna ; rm, Lucerna . is a city in central Switzerland, in the German-speaking portion of the country. Lucerne is the capital o ...

, competing in the double sculls event with Bailleau, which resulted in winning a bronze medal. He was part of the double scull that won a bronze medal at the

1975 World Rowing Championships The 1975 World Rowing Championships was the fifth World Rowing Championships. It was held from 21 to 30 August at Holme Pierrepont National Watersports Centre in Nottingham, England. Medal summary Medalists at the 1975 World Rowing Champion ...

in Nottingham. In the

Hart and Baillieu won a silver medal for double sculls and the same pair won a gold medal at the World Championships the following year. They won the Double Sculls Challenge Cup at Henley again in 1977 and 1978. He was awarded an MBE in the

1977 Silver Jubilee and Birthday Honours The 1977 Silver Jubilee and Birthday Honours were announced on 11 June 1977 to celebrate Queen Elizabeth II's Silver Jubilee and Birthday in the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Barbados, Mauritius, Fiji, the Bahamas, Grenada, and ...

. Nationally he won the 1974 British Rowing Championships and 1975 British Rowing Championships double sculls for Leander with Chris Baillieu. He had won the coxed pairs at the inaugural National Championships in

with David Maxwell and

Alan Inns Alan F Inns (born 28 August 1945) is a British rowing cox. He competed at the 1972 Summer Olympics, 1980 Summer Olympics and the 1984 Summer Olympics The 1984 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXIII Olympiad and also known as Los ...

, and their record time still stands as of 2020. Hart is an active member of Dittons Skiff and Punting Club and has won various punting championships and participated in several record breaking challenges.

Personal life

He married fellow national champion rower Pauline Bird-Hart in late 1976. He later married Valerie Winckless, the mother of Olympic rowing medallist Sarah Winckless.

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Hart, Michael 1951 births Living people English male rowers Olympic rowers for Great Britain Olympic silver medallists for Great Britain Olympic medalists in rowing Rowers at the 1972 Summer Olympics Rowers at the 1976 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 1976 Summer Olympics Alumni of Peterhouse, Cambridge Cambridge University Boat Club rowers Members of Leander Club Members of the Order of the British Empire World Rowing Championships medalists for Great Britain European Rowing Championships medalists

Rowing career

Personal life

See also

References

External links