James Clark (rower)

James Clark
Medal record
Men's rowing
Representing  Great Britain
Olympic Games
1976 Montreal Eights
World Rowing Championships
1974 Lucerne Eights

James Scott "Jim" Clark (born 15 July 1950) is a British rower who competed in the 1972 Summer Olympics, in the 1976 Summer Olympics, and in the 1980 Summer Olympics.

In 1972 he was a crew member of the British boat which finished seventh in the coxless four event.

Four years later at the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal he won the silver medal with the British boat in the eights competition. At the 1977 (Amsterdam) and 1978 (Karapiro NZ) World Rowing Championships, he won silver medals both years rowing with John Roberts in the coxless pair event.

At the 1980 Games in Moscow he and his partner Chris Baillieu finished fourth in the double sculls contest.

During the early 1970s he was a physical education schoolmaster at Cardinal Vaughan Grammar School, where he taught and coached the future Olympic champion oarsman Martin Cross. Cross identifies Clark as a major influence and inspiration in his memoirs.[1] Subsequently Clark was master in charge of rowing at Latymer Upper School, where among his early protégés there was the double Olympic rowing gold medallist, Andy Holmes. He then became a DT teacher and retired from teaching in the summer of 2010.[2] James Clark also coached at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics, where his sculler Beryl Mitchell finished sixth in the final. In 1992 he was the chief Olympic coach to the Danish Rowing Team, where his crew finished seventh in the eights.

His wife Lin Clark was one of the most prominent international oarswomen in Britain in the 1970s and 80s, initially as a heavyweight but later (from the early 80s on) as a lightweight. In 1985, coached by Jim and Mark Hayter she and Beryl Crockford (née Mitchell/Martin) were the world champion lightweight double scull crew, and the following year she was in the silver-medal-winning lightweight coxless four and winner of the Commonwealth Games.

References

  1. ↑ Cross, Martin Patrick (2001). Olympic Obsession: The Inside Story of Britain's Most Successful Sport. Breedon Books ISBN 978-1-85983-233-2
  2. ↑ OLNews September 2010


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