Saint George Ashe (23 May 1871 – 24 July 1922) was a British

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 ...

who competed in

Rowing at the 1900 Summer Olympics At the 1900 Summer Olympics in Paris, four events in rowing (sport), rowing were contested, marking the introduction of the sport to the Olympic program. At the inaugural 1896 Summer Olympics, 1896 Games, the rowing competition was cancelled du ...

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

winning the

bronze medal A bronze medal in sports and other similar areas involving competition is a medal made of bronze awarded to the third-place finisher of contests or competitions such as the Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, etc. The outright winner receives ...

in the

single scull A single scull (or a scull), abbreviated as a 1x, is a racing shell designed for a single person who propels the boat with two oars, one in each hand. Racing boats (often called "shells") are long, narrow, and broadly semi-circular in cross-se ...

s, and won the

Wingfield Sculls The Wingfield Sculls is a Rowing (sport), rowing race held annually on the River Thames in London, England, on the The Championship Course, Championship Course from Putney to Mortlake. The race is between single scullers and is usually on the ...

in 1904. Ashe was born in

Malta Malta, officially the Republic of Malta, is an island country in Southern Europe located in the Mediterranean Sea, between Sicily and North Africa. It consists of an archipelago south of Italy, east of Tunisia, and north of Libya. The two ...

. He was a member of

Thames Rowing Club The Thames Rowing Club (TRC) is a rowing club based on the tidal River Thames, Thames as it flows through the western suburbs of London. The TRC clubhouse stands on Putney Embankment. The club was founded in 1860. As of July 2023, Thames had w ...

and in 1900 was the only rower to represent Britain at the

1900 Summer Olympics The 1900 Summer Olympics (), today officially known as the Games of the II Olympiad () and also known as Paris 1900, were an international multi-sport event that took place in Paris, France, from 14 May to 28 October 1900. No opening or closin ...

held in

, France, in his first round heat, Ashe was disqualified after rowing into Raymond-Benoît and capsizing him, due to no one finishing the full course the judges decided to re-run the race, this time Ashe won by seven seconds. In the final he was third in single sculls behind

Hermann Barrelet Hermann Joseph Barrelet de Ricou (25 September 1879 – 24 April 1964) was a Swiss-born French rower. He won gold medals in single sculls at the 1900 Summer Olympics and 1901 European Championships. Barrelet continued to compete in single scull ...

and André Gaudin but was lucky as he was in fourth place until Louis Prével fell overboard. He entered the

Diamond Challenge Sculls The Diamond Challenge Sculls is a Rowing (sport), rowing event for men's single sculls at the annual Henley Royal Regatta on the River Thames at Henley-on-Thames in England. First run in 1844, it is open to male scullers from all eligible rowin ...

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 ...

seven times and was runner up in 1901 to C V Fox. He won the

in 1904 beating Arthur Cloutte, and was runner-up in 1905 and 1906 to

Harry Blackstaffe Henry Thomas "Harry" Blackstaffe (28 July 1868 – 22 August 1951) was a British rower who competed in the 1908 Summer Olympics. Blackstaffe was born in Islington, London, and became a butcher. He was a long-standing member of Vesta Rowing Cl ...

. In 1898 Ashe had attempted to row across the

English Channel The English Channel, also known as the Channel, is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that separates Southern England from northern France. It links to the southern part of the North Sea by the Strait of Dover at its northeastern end. It is the busi ...

, but the weather was unfavorable and after about three miles he started to take in water and was rescued by a tug that was accompanying him. Ashe died aged 51 years old in

St Leonards-on-Sea St Leonards-on-Sea (commonly known as St Leonards) is a town and seaside resort in the borough of Hastings in East Sussex, England. It has been part of the borough since the late 19th century and lies to the west of central Hastings. The origin ...

, the verdict of his death was ''"suicide during temporary insanity"'', he was found dead in a house near some gas taps that were switched on.

References

* Buchanan, Ian ''British Olympians''. Guinness Publishing (1991) * Page, Geoffrey Page ''Thames Rowing Hear the Boat Sing The history of Thames Rowing Club and Tideway Rowing'' Kingswood Press (1991)

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Ashe, Saint-George 1871 births 1922 suicides 1922 deaths British male rowers Olympic bronze medallists for Great Britain Olympic rowers for Great Britain Rowers at the 1900 Summer Olympics Olympic medalists in rowing Medalists at the 1900 Summer Olympics Suicides by gas Suicides in England