Rory Gibbs (born 3 April 1994) is a British representative rower - an Olympian and a two-time world champion. He won the 2022 and 2023 world championship titles in the British men's eight. Between 2016 and 2023 he rowed in victorious crews across six events at the

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 thre ...

University rowing

Gibbs took up rowing after picking up injuries playing rugby. He was educated at

Millfield School Millfield is a public school (English independent day and boarding school for pupils aged 13–18) located in Street, Somerset, England. It was founded in 1935. Millfield is a registered charity and is the largest co-educational boarding scho ...

and

Oxford Brookes Oxford Brookes University (formerly known as Oxford Polytechnic) is a public university in Oxford, England. It is a new university, having received university status through the Further and Higher Education Act 1992. The university was named ...

university where he was a relative late starter in taking up rowing. Racing for Oxford Brookes, Gibbs enjoyed an incredible run of victories at the

as he proceeded through his developmental stages - in 2016 a victory in the Temple Challenge Cup (for university eights); in 2017 & 2018 victory in the Ladies' Challenge Plate (for club and university eights below international standard); in 2019 the

Stewards' Challenge Cup The Stewards' Challenge Cup is a rowing event for men's coxless fours at the annual Henley Royal Regatta on the River Thames at Henley-on-Thames in England. It is open to male crews from all eligible rowing clubs. Two or more clubs may combine t ...

(for club and university coxless fours). In 2022, he won the

Grand Challenge Cup The Grand Challenge Cup is a rowing competition for men's eights. It is the oldest and best-known event at the annual Henley Royal Regatta on the River Thames at Henley-on-Thames in England. It is open to male crews from all eligible rowing cl ...

(the blue riband event at Henley) in the bow of a composite Leander/

crew. In 2023 again in Oxford Brookes colours, he was at five in the Leander/

eight for another Grand Challenge Cup victory.

Representative career

Gibbs first made national selection for Great Britain into the U23 men's eight for the 2015

U23 World Rowing Championships World Rowing U23 Championships is an international rowing regatta organized by FISA The Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978 ("FISA" , ) is a United States federal law that establishes procedures for the physical and electronic sur ...

in Plovdiv. That crew rowed to a fifth placing.Gibbs at World Rowing
/ref> In 2016 Gibbs was selected to the British coxed four for the U23 World Championships and another overall fifth placing. 2019 saw Gibbs selected into the Great Britain men's senior squad and medal success soon followed. He won a gold medal in the

coxless four A coxless four is a rowing boat used in the sport of competitive rowing. It is designed for four persons who propel the boat with sweep oars, without a coxswain. The crew consists of four rowers, each having one oar. There are two rowers on th ...

at the

2019 European Rowing Championships The 2019 European Rowing Championships was held in Lucerne, Switzerland from 31 May to 2 June 2019.Oliver Cook Oliver Robert George Cook (born 5 June 1990) is a British international Rowing (sport), rower. He is a world champion and an Olympian. Profile Whilst in education at Abingdon School he gained colours for the Abingdon School Boat Club eights. In ...

Matthew Rossiter Matthew Rossiter (born 25 September 1989) is a British international rower. He is an Olympian and has won medals at World Rowing Championships. Profile Rossiter was educated at Abingdon School and gained colours for the Abingdon School Boat Cl ...

and

Sholto Carnegie Sholto Carnegie (born 28 February 1995) is a British representative rower. He is an Olympian and a two-time world champion in the Great Britain men's eight. University and club rowing Raised in Oxford and educated at Cherwell School, Carnegie t ...

then that same crew won a bronze medal at the

2019 World Rowing Championships The 2019 World Rowing Championships were held in Ottensheim, Austria from 25 August to 1 September 2019. Apart from Ottensheim, the right to host the championships was contested by Hamburg in Germany, Račice in the Czech Republic, and Varese ...

. That crew of Gibbs, Cook, Rossiter and Carnegie stayed together throughout the Covid lost season of 2020 whilst knowing their 2019 performances had qualified the boat for the eventual

2020 Tokyo Olympics The , officially the and also known as , was an international multi-sport event held from 23 July to 8 August 2021 in Tokyo, Japan, with some preliminary events that began on 21 July. Tokyo was selected as the host city during the 1 ...

. In 2021, they won a second European gold medal as a 4- in

Varese Varese ( , , or ; lmo, label= Varesino, Varés ; la, Baretium; archaic german: Väris) is a city and ''comune'' in north-western Lombardy, northern Italy, north-west of Milan. The population of Varese in 2018 has reached 80,559. It is the c ...

, Italy, then took gold at the World Rowing Cup II. At the Tokyo Olympic regatta they won their heat, comfortably beating the eventual bronze medallists Italy. In the Olympic final they were in medal contention at each mark but were run down by the Italians in the last 500m and finished in fourth place. 2022 saw Gibbs selected in the bow seat of the Great Britain senior men's eight. In that international season the eight won gold at two World Rowing Cups and at the

2022 European Rowing Championships The 2022 European Rowing Championships were held from 11 to 14 August 2022 in Munich, Germany as part of the multi-sport 2022 European Championships. The event constituted 20 events in rowing, including 6 non-Olympic events and 4 in pararowing ...

. Gibbs in the British eight went on to win gold and a world championship title at the 2022 World Rowing Championships in Račice. In 2023 Gibbs won a second successive world championship in the men's eight at the

2023 World Rowing Championships The 2023 World Rowing Championships were held from 3 to 10 September 2023 in Belgrade, Serbia. Medal summary Medal table Non-Olympic/Paralympic classes Men Women Pararowing References External links Official websiteWorld Rowing websi ...

in Belgrade.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Gibbs, Rory Living people 1994 births British male rowers World Rowing Championships medalists for Great Britain Rowers at the 2020 Summer Olympics Olympic rowers for Great Britain 21st-century British people People educated at Millfield Alumni of Oxford Brookes University