Patrick John Sweeney (born 12 August 1952) is a retired

coxswain The coxswain ( or ) is the person in charge of a boat, particularly its navigation and steering. The etymology of the word gives a literal meaning of "boat servant" since it comes from ''cock'', referring to the wiktionary:cockboat, cockboat, a ...

for

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-west coast of continental Europe, consisting of the countries England, Scotland, and Wales. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the List of European ...

rowing Rowing is the act of propelling a human-powered watercraft using the sweeping motions of oars to displace water and generate reactional propulsion. Rowing is functionally similar to paddling, but rowing requires oars to be mechanically a ...

team. Sweeney competed at the

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

1976 Summer Olympics 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 ...

and 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 ...

Rowing career

Sweeney won the coxed fours with Christopher Pierce, Hugh Matheson, Dick Findlay and Alan Almand, rowing for a Tideway Scullers and

Leander Leander is one of the protagonists in the story of Hero and Leander in Greek mythology. Leander may also refer to: People * Leander (given name) * Leander (surname) Places * Leander, Kentucky, United States, an unincorporated community * L ...

composite, at the inaugural 1972 National Rowing Championships. The winning crew were then selected to represent Great Britain at the 1972 Olympics, Rooney Massara replaced Findlay in the men's coxed four event where the crew finished in tenth place after being knocked out in the semi-finals. At 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 ...

he coxed the eight to silver, a feat that was repeated at the 1976 Olympics when Sweeney coxed the eight during the 1976 Olympic rowing event. In between he was part of the coxed four 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, United Kingdom. Medal summary Medalists at the 1975 World ...

in Nottingham, the four just missed out on a medal finishing in fourth place in the A final. In 1977 he won his first gold medal at the

1977 Events January * January 8 – 1977 Moscow bombings, Three bombs explode in Moscow within 37 minutes, killing seven. The bombings are attributed to an Armenian separatist group. * January 10 – Mount Nyiragongo erupts in eastern Zaire (no ...

and another gold medal was secured during the

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 ...

when he coxed

Steve Redgrave Sir Steven Geoffrey Redgrave (born 23 March 1962) is a British retired rower who won gold medals at five consecutive Olympic Games from 1984 to 2000. He has also won three Commonwealth Games gold medals and nine World Rowing Championships golds ...

and

Andy Holmes Andrew John Holmes MBE (15 October 1959 – 24 October 2010)

in the coxed pairs. This crew then won an Olympic bronze medal at the 1988 Summer Olympics in the men's coxed pair.

Coaching

Sweeney is also a rowing coach. He has coached the British National Team at World Championships and Olympics. Also at the Burnaby Lake Aquatic Center in

Burnaby Burnaby is a city in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia, Canada. Located in the centre of the Burrard Peninsula, it neighbours the City of Vancouver to the west, the District of North Vancouver across the confluence of the Burrard In ...

British Columbia British Columbia is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Situated in the Pacific Northwest between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains, the province has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that ...

, Canada. He has served as head coach and director of training for the Belgian National Rowing team. In addition, he has coached several United States collegiate women's teams and has won four national collegiate titles. Sweeney currently coaches the

Kansas State University Kansas State University (KSU, Kansas State, or K-State) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university with its main campus in Manhattan, Kansas, United States. It was opened as the state's land-grant coll ...

women's team.

Achievements

Olympic Olympic or Olympics may refer to Sports Competitions * Olympic Games, international multi-sport event held since 1896 ** Summer Olympic Games ** Winter Olympic Games * Ancient Olympic Games, ancient multi-sport event held in Olympia, Greece bet ...

medals: 1 silver, 1 bronze *

World Championship 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 ...

medals: 2 gold, 2 silver

Olympic Games

* 1988 – Bronze, coxed pair (with

and

Andy Holmes Andrew John Holmes MBE (15 October 1959 – 24 October 2010)

) * 1976 – Silver, eight

World Championships

* 1987 – Silver, coxed pair (with

and

Andy Holmes Andrew John Holmes MBE (15 October 1959 – 24 October 2010)

) * 1986 – Gold, coxed pairs (with

and

Andy Holmes Andrew John Holmes MBE (15 October 1959 – 24 October 2010)

) * 1977 – Gold, men's lightweight eight * 1974 – Silver men's eight

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Sweeney, Patrick 1952 births Living people British male rowers British coxswains (rowing) Kansas State Wildcats rowing coaches Rowers at the 1976 Summer Olympics Rowers at the 1988 Summer Olympics Olympic rowers for Great Britain Olympic silver medallists for Great Britain Olympic bronze medallists for Great Britain Olympic medalists in rowing World Rowing Championships medalists for Great Britain Medalists at the 1988 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 1976 Summer Olympics Rowers at the 1972 Summer Olympics