Rob Dauncey

Rio Olympiad 2013 – 2016

In his first season with the GB Rowing Team, Rob coached Ollie Cook and returning Olympian James Foad to a season’s best performance in the men’s pair at the World Rowing Championships in Chungju.

The following year, James Foad and Matt Langridge, coached by Rob, won a fine silver medal at the Amsterdam World Championships, finishing 4 seconds behind the reigning Olympic champions from New Zealand, and 3 seconds clear of South Africa in third. The same crew took silver again in Aiguebelette in 2015, winning their heat, quarter and semi-finals, and finishing a length ahead of bronze medallists, Serbia, in the final.

During the 2016 season, as competition for coveted spots on the Olympic team increased, an intense rivalry developed between the two main crews in contention for selection for the men’s pair. This came to a head at the final World Cup event in Poznan, where Nathaniel Reilly-O’Donnell and Matthew Tarrant, and Alan Sinclair and Stewart Innes were drawn in adjacent lanes. After a strong start in this extraordinary race, Sinclair and Innes were well in the mix and held second position through the half-way marker; approaching the line, Reilly-O’Donnell and Tarrant put in a brave and determined push, but were just pipped to the bronze medal in a photo finish between the two GB boats.

The Olympic pair of Sinclair and Innes produced a solid performance in their A final in Rio. They couldn’t quite hold on to the medal position that they worked hard for during the race, but finished a creditable 4th.

Rob was first introduced to rowing as a youngster when his father took him to the local boat club. Away from rowing he enjoys running and reading, and says that he would love to be an astronaut if he weren’t a rowing coach.

Rob’s three ideal dinner guests would include Stephen Fry, Winston Churchill and Malcolm Gladwell, and baroque would be his choice of background music.