Timothy John Willoughby (24 June 1954 – 9 January 2008) was an Australian

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 ...

, yachtsman and stockbroker. He was a five-time Australian national champion rower, a dual Olympian and won a bronze medal in the Australian men's eight at the

1984 Summer Olympics The 1984 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXIII Olympiad and commonly known as Los Angeles 1984) were an international multi-sport event held from July 28 to August 12, 1984, in Los Angeles, California, United States. It marked the ...

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

Club and state rowing

Born in

Adelaide Adelaide ( , ; ) is the list of Australian capital cities, capital and most populous city of South Australia, as well as the list of cities in Australia by population, fifth-most populous city in Australia. The name "Adelaide" may refer to ei ...

, South Australia in 1954, Willoughby first began to show promise as a rower whilst at St Mark's College at the

University of Adelaide The University of Adelaide is a public university, public research university based in Adelaide, South Australia. Established in 1874, it is the third-oldest university in Australia. Its main campus in the Adelaide city centre includes many Sa ...

, where he was a boat captain in the

Adelaide University Boat Club The Adelaide University Boat Club is a rowing club affiliated with the University of Adelaide. The club was founded in 1881, and in 1896 helped to form the Adelaide University Sports Association. The main clubrooms, donated by Robert Barr Smith ...

. Willoughby was first selected to represent South Australia in the 1975 senior men's eight which contested the King's Cup at the Interstate Regatta. He made a total of nine King's Cup appearances for South Australia between 1975 and 1984. That was a golden period for South Australian heavyweight men's rowing and their eights won the title in 1981, 1982 and 1983; and placed second in 1975, 1977, 1979 and 1984. From 1980 to 1983 in Adelaide University colours he contested the national coxed or coxless four titles each year at the

Australian Rowing Championships The Australian Rowing Championships is an annual rowing event that determines Australia's national rowing champions and facilitates selection of Australian representative crews for World Championships and the Olympic Games. It is Australia's pre ...

. In 1980, 1982 and 1983 he also raced for the coxless pair title and he won those national championships in 1982 and 83.

International representative rowing

Willoughby made his first Australian representation in the Australian men's eight selected to contest the

1980 Moscow Olympics The 1980 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XXII Olympiad () and officially branded as Moscow 1980 (), were an international multi-sport event held from 19 July to 3 August 1980 in Moscow, Soviet Union, in present-day Russ ...

. That crew finished with an overall fifth placing.Willoughby at World Rowing
/ref> He was selected in 1981 to a

coxed four A coxed four, abbreviated as a 4+, is a racing shell used in the sport of competitive rowing. It is designed for four persons who propel the boat with sweep oars and is steered by a coxswain. The crew consists of four rowers, each having one ...

with Graham Jones, Jim Battersby and John Bentley who raced at the

1981 World Rowing Championships The 1981 World Rowing Championships were World Rowing Championships that were held from 30 August to 6 September 1981 at Oberschleißheim Regatta Course in Oberschleißheim near Munich, West Germany. Medal summary Men's events Women's events ...

in Munich to a sixth placing. In 1982 that same four with Battersby changed out for Bruce Keynes was selected to contest the

1982 World Rowing Championships The 1982 World Rowing Championships were World Rowing Championships that were held from 28 to 29 August 1982 at Rotsee in Lucerne, Switzerland. Medal summary Men's events Women's events Medal table References {{World Rowing Champi ...

in Lucerne. They missed the A final and placed seventh overall. In 1983, Willoughby secured the six seat of the Australian eight selected within a limited squad sent to the

1983 World Rowing Championships The 1983 World Rowing Championships were World Rowing Championships that were held from 3 to 4 September 1983 at Wedau in Duisburg, West Germany. Medal summary Men's events Women's events Medals table Seventeen nations won medals of th ...

in Duisburg Germany. The eight performed well in lead up regattas at Vichy, Ratzeburg and Nottingham. In the final at the World Championships the Australian crew drew a bad lane and lost the benefit of the tail breeze however they raced a strong second 1000m and finished in third place for a bronze medal. The Australian eight selected for the

1984 Los Angeles Olympics The 1984 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXIII Olympiad and commonly known as Los Angeles 1984) were an international multi-sport event held from July 28 to August 12, 1984, in Los Angeles, California, United States. It marked the ...

was built around the national champion

Mosman Rowing Club Mosman Rowing Club is an all-level competitive and recreational Rowing (sport), rowing club on the North Shore (Sydney), North Shore of Sydney. Since 2007 the club's facilities have been wholly located at The Spit, New South Wales, The Spit in S ...

coxed four of Jim Battersby, Craig Muller and Steve Evans. Willougby was selected in the four seat and made his second Olympics in Los Angeles. The Australian eight finished third in the final with a time of 5:43.40 winning bronze behind Canada and the USA.

Yachtsman

Subsequent to his win in Los Angeles, Willoughby was a crew member of the Australian yacht ''Kookaburra III'', which attempted to defend the

America's Cup The America's Cup is a sailing competition and the oldest international competition still operating in any sport. America's Cup match races are held between two sailing yachts: one from the yacht club that currently holds the trophy (known ...

in 1987 but was defeated by the American yacht '' Stars & Stripes''. He remained in

Perth Perth () is the list of Australian capital cities, capital city of Western Australia. It is the list of cities in Australia by population, fourth-most-populous city in Australia, with a population of over 2.3 million within Greater Perth . The ...

following the America's Cup and became president of the WA Olympic Council and of the Olympians Club of WA, representing

Western Australia Western Australia (WA) is the westernmost state of Australia. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east, and South Australia to the south-east. Western Aust ...

to the

Australian Olympic Committee The Australian Olympic Committee (AOC) is the National Olympic Committee responsible for developing, promoting, and protecting the Olympic Movement in Australia. The AOC has the exclusive responsibility for the representation of Australia at ...

Professional career

Willoughby spent twenty years as a stockbroker for the Goldman Sachs JBWere investment bank. Having left Goldman Sachs in late 2007, Willoughby was due to start work at the firm of Citi Smith Barney on 10 January 2008, but died suddenly on 9 January 2008 after suffering a

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when Ischemia, blood flow decreases or stops in one of the coronary arteries of the heart, causing infarction (tissue death) to the heart muscle. The most common symptom ...

on board a flight from the United States to

Singapore Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country and city-state in Southeast Asia. The country's territory comprises one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet. It is about one degree ...

, returning home from a family holiday in

New Mexico New Mexico is a state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States. It is one of the Mountain States of the southern Rocky Mountains, sharing the Four Corners region with Utah, Colorado, and Arizona. It also ...

.Sprague, Julie-anne
Stockbroker and former Olympian Tim Willoughby dies
''WA Business News'', 10 January 2008.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Willoughby, Tim 1954 births 2008 deaths Australian male rowers Rowers at the 1984 Summer Olympics Olympic rowers for Australia Olympic bronze medalists for Australia University of Adelaide alumni 1987 America's Cup sailors Olympic medalists in rowing Rowers at the 1980 Summer Olympics World Rowing Championships medalists for Australia Medalists at the 1984 Summer Olympics Rowers from Adelaide Sportsmen from South Australia 20th-century Australian sportsmen Goldman Sachs people