Thomas Ford (born 3 October 1992) is a British national 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 ...

. He is an Olympic and two-time world champion in the men's eight event.

Club and varsity rowing

Ford was rowing for the

Newcastle University Boat Club Newcastle University Boat Club (NUBC) is the rowing (sport), rowing club of Newcastle University, UK. Established in March 1911 as the boat ...

when he first represented for GB at the U23 level. Following graduation he joined the

Leander Club Leander Club, founded in 1818, is one of the oldest rowing clubs in the world, and the oldest non-academic club. It is based in Remenham in Berkshire, England and adjoins Henley-on-Thames. Only three other surviving clubs were founded prior ...

. At the 2016

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 ...

in a Leander crew he rowed to 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 men's intermediate eights. 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 the

) stroking a composite Leander/

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 ...

crew. In 2023 again in

colours he stroked a Leander/

eight to another Grand Challenge Cup victory.

International representative career

Ford made his representative debut for Great Britain in the men's U23 eight which raced at the 2013

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 Ottensheim.Tom Ford at World Rowing
/ref> That crew finished overall sixth. In 2014 he again made selection in the GB eight for the U23 World Championships. In 2017 Ford moved into the Great Britain men's senior squad and raced in the eight at World Rowing Cups I & III and at that year's European Championships. At the

2017 World Rowing Championships The 2017 World Rowing Championships were the 47th edition of the World Rowing Championships that were held from 24 September to 1 October 2017 in Sarasota, Florida. Host selection During 2013, Plovdiv and Sarasota, Florida both applied to host ...

he raced a coxed pair with Timothy Clarke and steered by Harry Brightmore to an overall fourth placing. With Jacob Dawson, Adam Neill and James Johnston, Ford held a seat in the Great Britain coxless four in the 2018 international season and won a bronze medal at the

2018 World Rowing Championships The 2018 World Rowing Championships were the World Rowing Championships held at the regatta course in Plovdiv, Bulgaria. The event was held from 9 to 16 September. Events held were men and women's open class, lightweight class, and para-rowing. ...

Plovdiv Plovdiv (, ) is the List of cities and towns in Bulgaria, second-largest city in Bulgaria, 144 km (93 miles) southeast of the capital Sofia. It had a population of 490,983 and 675,000 in the greater metropolitan area. Plovdiv is a cultural hub ...

, Bulgaria, Ford won a silver medal in the British eight 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 ...

and then won bronze 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 ...

Ottensheim Ottensheim is a municipality in the district of Urfahr-Umgebung in the Austrian state of Upper Austria. At its rowing venue, Regattastrecke Ottensheim, it has hosted numerous international rowing competitions, including various World Rowing Champ ...

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

in the eight with Thomas George, James Rudkin, Josh Bugajski,

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 ...

, Jacob Dawson,

Oliver Wynne-Griffith Oliver Henry Wynne-Griffith (born 29 May 1994) is a British rower. Rowing career Wynne-Griffith won a bronze medal at the 2018 World Rowing Championships in Plovdiv, Bulgaria, as part of the eight with James Rudkin, Alan Sinclair, Tom Ransley ...

, Matthew Tarrant and Henry Fieldman. In 2021, he won a European gold medal in the eight 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. At that year's delayed

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 ...

Ford stroked the Great Britain men's eight. They finished 3rd their heat but proceeded through a repechage to make the Olympic final. In the final they rowed level with the ultimate winner New Zealand at each mark but finished with a bronze medal being pipped for silver in the last 500m by the fast finishing German crew. Ford became a world champion stroking the British eight to victory 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 ...

. He had earlier that season won gold 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 ...

. In 2023 he won a second successive World Championship gold medal again as the strokeman 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 ...

. In July 2025, Ford will be awarded an honorary degrees from Keele University.

Personal life

From

Holmes Chapel Holmes Chapel is a village and civil parish in Cheshire, England, north of Crewe and south of Manchester; Swettenham Meadows Nature Reserve lies east of the village and Goostrey lies to the north. The population of the village was 6,700 a ...

Cheshire Cheshire ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in North West England. It is bordered by Merseyside to the north-west, Greater Manchester to the north-east, Derbyshire to the east, Staffordshire to the south-east, and Shrop ...

, his sister

Emily Emily may refer to: * Emily (given name), including a list of people with the name Music * "Emily" (1964 song), title song by Johnny Mandel and Johnny Mercer to the film ''The Americanization of Emily'' * "Emily" (Dave Koz song), a 1990 song ...

is also a British international rower and fellow Olympic medallist.

References

External links

*
Tom Ford
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 ...

* * *
Tom Ford
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:Ford, Thomas Living people 1992 births British male rowers World Rowing Championships medalists for Great Britain Rowers at the 2020 Summer Olympics Rowers at the 2024 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 2020 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 2024 Summer Olympics Olympic medalists in rowing Olympic gold medallists for Great Britain Olympic bronze medallists for Great Britain 21st-century British sportsmen People from Holmes Chapel Olympic rowers for Great Britain