Rory Gibbs (born 3 April 1994) is a British representative

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 ...

- an Olympic 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 (sport), rowing event held annually on the River Thames by the town of Henley-on-Thames, England. It was established on 26 March 1839. It diffe ...

University rowing

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

Millfield School Millfield is a public school (English fee-charging boarding and day 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 s ...

and

Oxford Brookes Oxford Brookes University (OBU; 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 na ...

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 The Temple Challenge Cup is one of the eights races at Henley Royal Regatta at Henley-on-Thames on the River Thames in England. It is open to male crews from universities, colleges or schools. Combined entries from two colleges of the same uni ...

(for university eights); in 2017 & 2018 victory in the

Ladies' Challenge Plate The Ladies' Challenge Plate is one of the events at Henley Royal Regatta on the River Thames at Henley-on-Thames in England. Crews of men's eight-oared boats below the standard of the Grand Challenge Cup can enter, although international standa ...

(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 The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the The Isis, River Isis, is a river that flows through ...

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

Grand Challenge Cup The Grand Challenge Cup is a rowing (sport), rowing competition for men's eight (rowing), 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 cr ...

(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 the World Rowing Federation World Rowing, also known as the World Rowing Federation (officially FISA; ), is the international governing body for rowing. Its curren ...

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, abbreviated as a 4- and also called a straight four, is a racing shell 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 ...

at the

2019 European Rowing Championships The 2019 European Rowing Championships was held in Lucerne, Switzerland from 31 May to 2 June 2019. Medal summary Men Women Medal table References {{European championships in 2019 European Rowing Championships 2019 European Rowing Cha ...

with Oliver Cook, Matthew Rossiter and

Sholto Carnegie Sholto Hector Hawkshaw Carnegie (born 28 February 1995) is a British representative Rowing (sport), rower. He is an Olympic and a two-time world champion in the Great Britain men's eight. University and club rowing Raised in Oxford and educate ...

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 (Litoměřice District), Račice in ...

. 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 officially branded as were an international multi-sport event that was held from 23 July to 8 August 2021 in Tokyo, Japan, with some of the preliminary sporting events beginning on 21 July 2021. Tokyo ...

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

Varese Varese ( , ; or ; ; ; archaic ) is a city and ''comune'' in north-western Lombardy, northern Italy, north-west of Milan. The population of Varese in 2018 was 80,559. It is the capital of the Province of Varese. The hinterland or exurban part ...

, Italy, then took gold at the

World Rowing Cup The World Rowing Cup is an international rowing competition organized by FISA (the International Rowing Federation). It began in 1997 and comprises three regattas (apart from in 2001 when there were four) held throughout early summer. In each ...

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

s and at the

2022 European Rowing Championships The 2022 European Rowing Championships were held from 11 to 14 August 2022 in Oberschleißheim, near Munich, Germany, as part of the multi-sport 2022 European Championships. The event constituted 19 events in rowing and 4 in pararowing. Medal ...

. Gibbs in the British eight went on to win gold and a world championship title at the

2022 World Rowing Championships The 2022 World Rowing Championships were held from 18 to 25 September 2022 in Račice, Czech Republic. Medal summary Medal table Non-Olympic/Paralympic classes Men Women Pararowing Participating nations 63 countries participated in thi ...

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 webs ...

in Belgrade. He won a gold medal as part of the Great Britain eight at the

2024 Summer Olympics The 2024 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXXIII Olympiad () and branded as Paris 2024, were an international multi-sport event held in France from 26 July to 11 August 2024, with several events started from 24 July. P ...

References

External links

*
Rory Gibbs
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 ...

* * *
Rory Gibbs
at the

Paris 2024 Summer Olympics The 2024 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXXIII Olympiad () and branded as Paris 2024, were an international multi-sport event held in France from 26 July to 11 August 2024, with several events started from 24 July. P ...

(archived
alternate link
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Gibbs, Rory 1994 births Living people British male rowers World Rowing Championships medalists for Great Britain Olympic rowers for Great Britain Olympic gold medallists for Great Britain Olympic medalists in rowing Rowers at the 2020 Summer Olympics Rowers at the 2024 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 2024 Summer Olympics Alumni of Oxford Brookes University People educated at Millfield 21st-century British sportsmen