Andrew T Hodge retires from international rowing

February 27, 2017

Andrew T Hodge retires from international rowing with three Olympic gold medals, four world titles and one European title on his impressive palmares

Three-time Olympic champion Andrew T Hodge has announced his retirement from international rowing after a remarkable career, which spanned 14 years and saw him win four World Championship titles.

The 37-year-old won his third Olympic gold in Rio de Janeiro in August 2016, where he was part of the dominant men’s eight, which also saw his long-term crewmate Pete Reed also win his third gold.

While Reed announced in January that he will continue with the GB Rowing Team, Hodge has decided to hang up his oar to spend more time with his growing family and to get stuck into a new job with the Thames Tideway Tunnel.

“I consider myself extremely lucky to have had the chance to get involved, and had the attributes to succeed, in this wonderful sport,” Hodge said. “Rowing is a world of hard working individuals that thrive in a team environment. I feel fortunate to have been part of such a great community of people who get the best from themselves and encourage the best from those around them.

“The parts I enjoyed most about rowing was the rowing itself. Competition served as milestones for training and also it shone the light on the part I intrinsically enjoyed, the hard work and training. Racing was never about beating others, but proving to myself what I was capable of. The value in my Gold medals equates to the standard to which we trained and raced.”

Hodge made his Olympic debut in 2004 in the men’s eight, winning his first gold in the coxless four in Beijing 2008 with Reed, Tom James and Steve Williams. Four years later he, Reed and James were joined by Alex Gregory as they defended the gold medal for Great Britain; and in his final competitive regatta wearing the GB kit, Hodge claimed his third gold in Rio.

Hodge was awarded an OBE in the Queen’s 2017 New Year Honours for his services to rowing, having previously been awarded an MBE after his first Olympic victory in the 2009 Honours.