Peter K. Reed (born 27 July 1981) is a retired British Olympic

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 ...

. Reed is a three-times Olympic gold medallist – earning gold in the Men's coxless four at the

2008 2008 was designated as: *International Year of Languages *International Year of Planet Earth *International Year of the Potato *International Year of Sanitation The Great Recession, a worldwide recession which began in 2007, continued throu ...

and

2012 2012 was designated as: *International Year of Cooperatives *International Year of Sustainable Energy for All Events January *January 4 – The Cicada 3301 internet hunt begins. * January 12 – Peaceful protests begin in the R ...

Olympics, and then a gold medal in the Men's eight at the

2016 2016 was designated as: * International Year of Pulses by the sixty-eighth session of the United Nations General Assembly. * International Year of Global Understanding (IYGU) by the International Council for Science (ICSU), the Internationa ...

Olympics in Rio de Janeiro. He has also won five gold medals and three silver medals at the World Championships.

Background and military career

Reed was born in

Seattle Seattle ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the 18th-most populous city in the United States. The city is the cou ...

Washington Washington most commonly refers to: * George Washington (1732–1799), the first president of the United States * Washington (state), a state in the Pacific Northwest of the United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A ...

, US but his family moved to England several months later. He was brought up in

Nailsworth Nailsworth is a town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in the Stroud District in Gloucestershire, England, lying in one of the Stroud Valleys in the Cotswolds, on the A46 road, south of Stroud and about north-east of Bristol and Bat ...

Gloucestershire Gloucestershire ( , ; abbreviated Glos.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by Herefordshire to the north-west, Worcestershire to the north, Warwickshire to the north-east, Oxfordshire ...

and attended Cirencester Deer Park School, and later

Cirencester College Cirencester College is a sixth form college based in the town of Cirencester in the South Cotswolds. It is a specialist sixth form provider serving communities in Gloucestershire, South Gloucestershire, Wiltshire and Oxfordshire. Cirencester Co ...

for his A-levels. Reed joined the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...

in 1999 and began rowing relatively late. In 2001, whilst training as an officer on board , he used an ergometer for the first time – and promptly posted the fastest time in the Royal Navy's annual fleet-wide fitness competition. He received a medical discharge in 2022 and left with the rank of lieutenant commander.

Rowing career

Reed took up rowing in his second year of university in 2002, whilst studying mechanical engineering at the

University of the West of England The University of the West of England (also known as UWE Bristol) is a Public university, public research university, located in and around Bristol, England, UK. With more than 39,912 students and 4,300 staff, it is the largest provider of hi ...

, to become a naval engineer. The following year, in 2003, coached by Fred Smallbone, he became a successful Boat Club President. In 2004, Reed won a place at the

University of Oxford The University of Oxford is a collegiate university, collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the List of oldest un ...

to attend a two-year MSc course in engineering, based at

Oriel College Oriel College () is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in Oxford, England. Located in Oriel Square, the college has the distinction of being the oldest royal foundation in Oxford (a title formerly claimed by University College, ...

. During this time, he trained at the

Oxford University Boat Club Oxford University Boat Club (OUBC) is the Rowing (sport), rowing club for the University of Oxford, England, located on the River Thames at Oxford. The club was founded in 1829. The prime constitutional aim of OUBC is to beat Cambridge Univers ...

(OUBC) under coach Sean Bowden, where he earned the nickname "The Commander". He was selected in both years for the

Blue Boat The Blue Boat is the highest level boat representing the University of Oxford or the University of Cambridge in the universities' annual rowing races on the River Thames, The Boat Race and Women's Boat Race. As of 2016, the women's first VIII ...

to race against

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a List of cities in the United Kingdom, city and non-metropolitan district in the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It is the county town of Cambridgeshire and is located on the River Cam, north of London. As of the 2021 Unit ...

in the annual

Boat Race The Boat Race is an annual set of rowing races between the Cambridge University Boat Club and the Oxford University Boat Club, traditionally rowed between open-weight eights on the River Thames in London, England. It is also known as the Uni ...

. Defeat in 2004 was followed by victory in

2005 2005 was designated as the International Year for Sport and Physical Education and the International Year of Microcredit. The beginning of 2005 also marked the end of the International Decade of the World's Indigenous Peoples, Internationa ...

. The race gained much publicity as Oxford narrowly won by 2 lengths in a time of 16 minutes 42 seconds with its "heaviest-ever Boat Race crew", a record which was later broken in 2009. In 2005, Reed and his Oxford strokeman,

Andrew Triggs Hodge Andrew Triggs Hodge (born 3 March 1979) is a British former rower - a three time Olympic champion and four time world champion. In the British coxless four in 2012 he set a world's best time which still stood as of 2023. Education Born in Hal ...

, won GB senior pairs trials (together they won every year from 2005 to 2012), and following the retirement of

Matthew Pinsent Sir Matthew Clive Pinsent, (; born 10 October 1970) is an English rower and broadcaster. During his rowing career, he won 10 world championship gold medals and four consecutive Olympic gold medals. Since retiring, he has worked as a sports b ...

and

James Cracknell James Edward Cracknell, (born 5 May 1972) is a British rowing and endurance athlete, double Olympic gold medalist and winner of six world championship titles. Cracknell was appointed OBE for "services to sport" in the 2005 New Year Honours ...

were selected by coach

Jürgen Gröbler Jürgen Heinz Lothar Gröbler OBE (born 31 July 1946, Magdeburg) is a German rowing coach, formerly the Olympic team coach of East Germany and later of Great Britain. He coached crews to medals at ten Olympiads from 1972 to 2016, with the excepti ...

to row alongside

Alex Partridge Alexander Matthew Partridge (born 25 January 1981 in San Francisco) is a British rower, and an Olympic silver and bronze medallist. Education Partridge started rowing at Monkton Combe School, Bath, and attended Oxford Brookes University to ...

and Steve Williams MBE, in the new Great Britain Coxless Four. Unbeaten for 27 consecutive races until Lucerne 2007, the British Four won gold at all three World Cups in 2005 and 2006, and finished both seasons by becoming World Champions. Reed continued his training to represent Great Britain at the

2008 Summer Olympics The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and officially branded as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes fro ...

in Beijing. After a difficult early season, in which his teammates

Tom James Thomas James (c. 1573–1629) was an English librarian and Anglican clergyman. Thomas, Tommy or Tom James may also refer to Sports *Tom James (rower) (born 1984), British rower *Tom James (rugby union, born 1987), Welsh rugby union footballer *To ...

, whom he had rowed against in the 2005 Boat Race, and Andrew Triggs Hodge picked up injuries, the first-choice four raced together for the first time in Poznań in the final World Cup event of the season, finishing second. The GB four then dominated their heats and semi finals at the Beijing Olympics. In the final, however, the Australian four lead for most of the way. Only a dramatic push by the British boat in the closing stages made the difference; they won the nail biting final to become gold medallists in a time of 6 minutes 6.57 seconds, beating the Australian four by 1.28 seconds. He stands 6 feet 6 inches tall and was reported in 2006 as having the largest recorded

lung capacity Lung volumes and lung capacities are measures of the volume of air in the lungs at different phases of the respiratory cycle. The average total lung capacity of an adult human male is about 6 litres of air. Tidal breathing is normal, resting br ...

(11.68 litres). Originally due to return to full-time naval duties after returning from Beijing he confirmed on 6 November 2008 that he had been given permission to continue training for the

2012 Summer Olympics The 2012 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012, were an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...

in London. At the 2012 Summer Games, Reed, along with Triggs-Hodge, James and

Alex Gregory Alexander John Gregory, (born 11 March 1984) is an English former representative rower. He is a six-time world champion and a two-time Olympic gold medallist at 2012 and 2016 in the Coxless four. Education Alex Gregory was educated at the R ...

, helped Great Britain retain the gold medal in the men's coxless four. He competed at the

2013 World Rowing Championships The 2013 World Rowing Championships were World Rowing Championships that were held from 25 August to 1 September 2013 at Tangeum Lake, Chungju in South Korea. The annual week-long rowing (sport), rowing regatta was organized by International Row ...

Chungju Chungju () is a Administrative divisions of South Korea, city in North Chungcheong Province, South Korea. Uamsan is a mountain located within the outskirts of the city. The city is famous for the annual martial arts festival held in October. Al ...

, where he won a gold medal as part of the eight. He then competed at the

2014 World Rowing Championships The 2014 World Rowing Championships were the 44th edition of the World Rowing Championships and were held from 24 to 31 August 2014 at Bosbaan, Amsterdam in the Netherlands, the second occasion on which the event had been held in Amsterdam, or ...

Bosbaan The Bosbaan is a rowing lake situated in the Amsterdamse Bos (Amsterdam Forest) in Amstelveen, Netherlands. Amstelveen is a municipality and a town in the Netherlands and is part of the metropolitan area of Amsterdam. Confusingly, all built stru ...

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , ; ; ) is the capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, largest city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It has a population of 933,680 in June 2024 within the city proper, 1,457,018 in the City Re ...

, where he won a gold medal as part of the eight and the following year he was part of the British team that topped the medal table at the

2015 World Rowing Championships The 2015 World Rowing Championships were World Rowing Championships that were held from 30 August to 6 September 2015 at the Lac d'Aiguebelette, Aiguebelette-le-Lac in France. Description The annual week-long rowing regatta was organized by ...

Lac d'Aiguebelette The Lac d'Aiguebelette (; Lake of Aiguebelette) is a natural lake north of the Chartreuse Mountains in the French Alps and just west of the Chaîne de l'Épine in the Jura Mountains. It is located within five Communes of France, communes in the Sa ...

in France, where he won a gold medal as part of the eight with Matt Gotrel,

Constantine Louloudis Constantine Michael Louloudis (born 15 September 1991) is a Greek-British Rowing (sport), rower. He is an Olympic Games, Olympic medal winner, two-time World Rowing Championships, world champion and four-time The Boat Race, Boat Race winner. Pe ...

, Paul Bennett,

Moe Sbihi Mohamed Karim Sbihi (born 27 March 1988) is a British rower. He is a three-time Olympian and Olympic medal winner. He won a gold medal in the coxless four at 2016 Rio Olympics, and at the 2012 London Olympics he was in the British crew that wo ...

, George Nash,

Will Satch William Spencer Satch (born 9 June 1989) is a British rower and Olympic gold medallist. Rowing career Satch was educated at Shiplake College near Henley-on-Thames in southeast Oxfordshire. His rowing coach was New Zealand gold medallist Shane ...

and

Phelan Hill Phelan Hill (born 21 July 1979) is a British rowing coxswain. He is a three-time world champion and an Olympic gold medallist. He competed in the Men's eight event at the 2012 Summer Olympics, winning a bronze medal. In 2016, he competed in the ...

. In April 2018, Reed announced his retirement from professional rowing.

Personal life

In August 2014, Reed was one of 200 public figures who were signatories to a letter to ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

'' opposing

Scottish independence Scottish independence (; ) is the idea of Scotland regaining its independence and once again becoming a sovereign state, independent from the United Kingdom. The term Scottish independence refers to the political movement that is campaignin ...

in the run-up to September's referendum on that issue. In October 2019, Reed announced via

Instagram Instagram is an American photo sharing, photo and Short-form content, short-form video sharing social networking service owned by Meta Platforms. It allows users to upload media that can be edited with Social media camera filter, filters, be ...

that he had suffered a spinal stroke, which has left him paralysed from the chest down. Reed and his wife have a son (born in 2023).

Honours

Reed was appointed

Member of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

(MBE) in the 2009 New Year Honours and

Officer of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

(OBE) in the 2017 New Year Honours for services to rowing.

Rowing palmares

Olympics

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro, or simply Rio, is the capital of the Rio de Janeiro (state), state of Rio de Janeiro. It is the List of cities in Brazil by population, second-most-populous city in Brazil (after São Paulo) and the Largest cities in the America ...

– Gold, eight (5 seat) *

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

– Gold, coxless four (2 seat) *

Beijing Beijing, Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Peking, is the capital city of China. With more than 22 million residents, it is the world's List of national capitals by population, most populous national capital city as well as ...

– Gold, coxless four (3 seat)

World Championships

*2015 Aiguebelette – Gold, men's eight (3 seat) *2014

– Gold, men's eight (5 seat) *2013

– Gold, men's eight (4 seat) *2011

Bled Bled (; ,''Leksikon občin kraljestev in dežel zastopanih v državnem zboru,'' vol. 6: ''Kranjsko''. 1906. Vienna: C. Kr. Dvorna in Državna Tiskarna, p. 146. in older sources also ''Feldes'') is a town on Lake Bled in the Upper Carniolan regio ...

– Silver, coxless pair (Bow) *2010

Karapiro Karapiro () is a settlement and rural area in the Waipā District and Waikato region of New Zealand's North Island. It includes both the artificially created Lake Karapiro and the accompanying Karāpiro Power Station. Karapiro is located just ...

– Silver, coxless pair (Bow) *2009

Poznań Poznań ( ) is a city on the Warta, River Warta in west Poland, within the Greater Poland region. The city is an important cultural and business center and one of Poland's most populous regions with many regional customs such as Saint John's ...

– Silver, coxless pair (Bow) *2007

Munich Munich is the capital and most populous city of Bavaria, Germany. As of 30 November 2024, its population was 1,604,384, making it the third-largest city in Germany after Berlin and Hamburg. Munich is the largest city in Germany that is no ...

– 4th, coxless Four (2 seat) *2006

Eton Eton most commonly refers to Eton College, a public school in Eton, Berkshire, England. Eton may also refer to: Places *Eton, Berkshire, a town in Berkshire, England *Eton, Georgia, a town in the United States *Éton, a commune in the Meuse depa ...

– Gold, coxless four (2 seat) *2005

Gifu is a Cities of Japan, city located in the south-central portion of Gifu Prefecture, Japan, and serves as the prefectural capital. The city has played an important role in Japan's history because of its location in the middle of the country. Durin ...

– Gold, coxless four (2 seat)

World Cups

*2014

Lucerne Lucerne ( ) or Luzern ()Other languages: ; ; ; . is a city in central Switzerland, in the Languages of Switzerland, German-speaking portion of the country. Lucerne is the capital of the canton of Lucerne and part of the Lucerne (district), di ...

– Bronze, men's 8 (5 seat) *2014 Aiguebelette – Silver, men's 8 (5 seat) *2013

Eton Dorney Dorney Lake (also known as Eton College Rowing Centre, and as Eton Dorney as a 2012 Summer Olympics venue) is a purpose-built Rowing (sport), rowing lake and Meetings & Events Venue in England. It is near the village of Dorney, Buckinghamshire, ...

– Gold, men's 8 (7 seat) *2013

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

– Gold, men's 8 (7 seat) *2012

– Silver, coxless four (2 seat) *2012

– Gold, coxless four (2 seat) *2012

Belgrade Belgrade is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Serbia, largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers and at the crossroads of the Pannonian Basin, Pannonian Plain and the Balkan Peninsula. T ...

– Gold, coxless four (2 seat) *2011

– Silver, coxless pair (bow) *2011

– Gold, coxless pair (bow) *2010

– Silver, coxless pair (bow) *2010

– Gold, eight (7 seat) *2010

– Silver, coxless pair (bow) *2009

Banyoles Banyoles () is a city of 20,168 inhabitants (2021) located in the province of Girona in northeastern Catalonia, Spain. The town is the capital of the Catalan ''comarca'' " Pla de l'Estany". Although an established industrial centre many of th ...

– Gold, coxless pair (bow) *2008

– Silver, coxless four (3 seat) *2008

– 8th, coxless four (3 seat) *2008

– Gold, coxless four (3 seat) *2007

– Silver, coxless four (2 seat) *2007

– Gold, men's eight *2007

Linz Linz (Pronunciation: , ; ) is the capital of Upper Austria and List of cities and towns in Austria, third-largest city in Austria. Located on the river Danube, the city is in the far north of Austria, south of the border with the Czech Repub ...

– Gold, coxless four (2 seat) *2006

– Gold, coxless four (3 seat) *2006

– Gold, coxless four (2 seat) *2005

– Gold, coxless four (2 seat) *2004

– 11th, coxless pair (bow)

World Rowing Under 23 Championships

*2003 – 4th, coxed four

Other

* British Olympic Association Male Olympic Athlete 2014 * Senior Pairs Trials winner 2012 * Senior Pairs Trials winner 2011 * Senior Pairs Trials winner 2010 * Senior Pairs Trials winner 2009 * Combined Services Sportsman of the Year 2008 * President's Award from the

Sports Journalists' Association The Sports Journalists' Association (SJA) is an association for British sports journalists. It represents the British sports media on the British Olympic Association's press advisory committee and acts as a consultant to organizers of major eve ...

* Senior Pairs Trials winner 2008 * Senior Pairs Trials winner 2007 * Senior Pairs Trials winner 2006 * Senior Pairs Trials winner 2005 * Combined Services Sportsman of the Year 2005 * Royal Navy Sportsman of the Year 2005

References

External links

Pete Reed
at

British Rowing British Rowing, formerly the Amateur Rowing Association (ARA), is the national governing body for the sport of rowing (both indoor and on-water rowing). It is responsible for the training and selection of individual rowers and crews represent ...

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Reed, Pete 1981 births Rowers from Seattle People from Nailsworth Royal Navy officers Living people Alumni of Oriel College, Oxford English male rowers Olympic rowers for Great Britain Rowers at the 2008 Summer Olympics Rowers at the 2012 Summer Olympics Rowers at the 2016 Summer Olympics Olympic gold medallists for Great Britain Alumni of the University of the West of England, Bristol Oxford University Boat Club rowers Olympic medalists in rowing Medalists at the 2012 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 2008 Summer Olympics Members of Leander Club British male rowers World Rowing Championships medalists for Great Britain Medalists at the 2016 Summer Olympics Officers of the Order of the British Empire European Rowing Championships medalists 21st-century English sportsmen