Paul Stannard appointed Men’s Olympic Head Coach for the GB Rowing Team
The GB Rowing Team has appointed Paul Stannard as its new Men’s Olympic Head Coach, following a two stage interview process
Photo Credit: Getty Images/SAS
The GB Rowing Team has appointed Paul Stannard as its new Men’s Olympic Head Coach, following a two stage interview process. He will take on the role with immediate effect.
Paul has worked with British Rowing for over 18 years and since 2013 led the men’s sculling team to both the Rio 2016 Olympics and the delayed Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games. Tokyo 2020 saw the men’s quad of Harry Leask, Angus Groom, Tom Barras and Jack Beaumont win an historic silver medal, GB’s first ever Olympic medal for that boat class and the men’s double of Graeme Thomas and John Collins finish 4th making this the most successful Olympics for Men’s Sculling since 1948.
Paul’s first role with British Rowing was in 2003 when as a World Class Start coach he set up the highly successful talent ID centre in Bath. He was rewarded for his hard work and commitment to the sport by winning Performance Development Coach of 2012 at the Sportcoach UK Coaching Awards. He was also recognised with the Nick Broad Award for Emerging Talent for his work in the World Class Start Programme, which included identifying and developing Helen Glover and Heather Stanning who went on to win Olympic gold medals in both London and Rio and Vicky Thornley who won silver in Rio.
As Men’s Olympic Head Coach, Paul will lead the Olympic programme to produce Olympic Class boats with the potential to win medals at international competitions, building a world class culture within the programme that sees rowers and staff thrive both on and off the water.
Commenting on the new role Paul said: “In my interview for my first World Class Start role back in 2003 I stated that my main motivation for the job was to help British athletes win medals on the world stage. The quad’s silver medal in Tokyo was fantastic and I look forward to working with the coaches and support staff to help our talented athletes continue to win medals for Great Britain and themselves in the years to come.”
Louise Kingsley, Director of Performance for the GB Rowing Team said: “I am absolutely delighted to see Paul step up into the new Head Coach role, he beat a strong field of internal and external candidates. Paul’s leadership of a programme has grown significantly in the past 12 months while he has been Interim Lead Coach for Men’s Sculling. I am excited to see him work with the wider squad to deliver world class performances, evolve a contemporary performance culture and stay actively connected to the pathway.”
Recruitment for the Women’s Olympic Head Coach is ongoing and an announcement on this appointment will be made as soon as possible.
The interview panel comprised:
- Mark Davies, Chair, British Rowing
- Louise Kingsley, Director of Performance, British Rowing
- Catriona Semple, UK Sport
- Tom Dyson, GB Rowing Team Paralympic Chief Coach
- Constantine Louloudis, Olympic Champion
- Victoria Thornley, Olympic Silver Medallist
- Ann Redgrave, Chief Medical Officer, British Rowing
