Charles Cousins
Rower // Men's Squad
Date of Birth: 13th Dec 1988 (35 years old)
Club: Leander Club
Height: 198.00
Hometown: Willingham
Charles Cousins raced with the men's quad in the London 2012 Olympic final, and went on to win bronze in the quad at teh World Rowing Championships in 2013 and silver in 2014.
Charles Cousins is a graduate from the GB Rowing Team’s Start Programme. After finishing fourth at the World Championships in 2015, he was forced to stepped back from classic international rowing through injury in 2016.
He was selected for the GB Beach Sprint Team in 2022, where he won silver in the Coastal Mixed Double Sculls (CMix 2x) with Clare Jamieson.
Charles has helped the men’s quadruple scull set new medal milestones at the World Championships
On The Water
©Peter Spurrier/Intersport Images
2014
2013
2012
Olympic Finalist Men's Quadruple Scull
2008
2007
Rio 2016 Olympiad: 2013 – 2016
After winning the men’s single sculls at the GB Rowing Team Senior Trials for a third successive year, injury forced Cousins to miss the first three regattas of 2015 but he returned to help the men’s quad for Rio 2016 with a fourth-placed finish at the World Rowing Championships in Aiguebelette.
Cousins was in the quad throughout the Rio Olympiad, which started with a gold medal at the Sydney World Cup. The now familiar line-up of Graeme Thomas, Sam Townsend, Cousins and Peter Lambert raced together for the first time at Eton Dorney. They finished fifth there and, with Jonny Walton subbing for the injured Thomas in Lucerne, improved to fourth before winning bronze at the 2013 World Rowing Championships in Chungju – the first ever world medal for a GB men’s quad.
The crew continued to make great strides during 2014, winning silver at the European Championships in Belgrade before adding world cup gold in both Aiguebelette and Lucerne. Mature and confident performances saw them win their heat and semi-final at the World Rowing Championships in Amsterdam to set up a showdown with Ukraine, who had beaten GB to the European title. The final was closely fought but Ukraine were able to hold off a dramatic late surge from the Brits, who missed out on gold by just nine-hundredths of a second.
London 2012 Olympiad: 2009 – 2012
Still an under-23 athlete, Cousins nevertheless established himself in the senior quad in 2009 and won world cup silver in Banyoles and Lucerne. However, illness struck the crew just before the World Rowing Championships in Poznan and they had to withdraw after their heat.
They enjoyed better fortunes the following year in New Zealand as Cousins, Sam Townsend, Bill Lucas and Stephen Rowbotham became the first GB men’s quad to reach a World Championship final since 1982, finishing fifth. They also won bronze medals at the World Cups in Munich and Lucerne.
After missing 2011 through injury, Cousins returned to the quad in 2012. They finished seventh at the World Cups in Belgrade and Lucerne before improving to fourth in Munich. Cousins was selected for his Olympic debut and reached the final at London 2012, finishing fifth alongside Stephen Rowbotham, Tom Solesbury and Matt Wells.
GB Competitive Record
Olympic Games | ||
---|---|---|
2012 | 5th | M4x |
- Olympic Games:
- 2012
- 5th
- M4x
World Rowing Championships | ||
---|---|---|
2015 | 4th | M4x |
2014 | M4x | |
2013 | M4x | |
2010 | 5th | M4x |
- World Rowing Championships:
- 2015
- 4th
- M4x
- World Rowing Championships:
- 2014
- M4x
- World Rowing Championships:
- 2013
- M4x
- World Rowing Championships:
- 2010
- 5th
- M4x
European Rowing Championships | ||
---|---|---|
2015 | M4x | |
2014 | M4x | |
2008 | 11th | M2x |
- European Rowing Championships:
- 2015
- M4x
- European Rowing Championships:
- 2014
- M4x
- European Rowing Championships:
- 2008
- 11th
- M2x
World Rowing U23 Championships | ||
---|---|---|
2008 | M2x | |
2007 | M2x |
- World Rowing U23 Championships:
- 2008
- M2x
- World Rowing U23 Championships:
- 2007
- M2x
World Rowing Junior Championships | ||
---|---|---|
2006 | 5th | M2- |
- World Rowing Junior Championships:
- 2006
- 5th
- M2-
GB Rowing Team Senior Trials | ||
---|---|---|
2015 | 1st | M1x |
2014 | 1st | M1x |
2013 | 1st | M1x |
2012 | 3rd | M1x |
2010 | 5th | M1x |
- GB Rowing Team Senior Trials:
- 2015
- 1st
- M1x
- GB Rowing Team Senior Trials:
- 2014
- 1st
- M1x
- GB Rowing Team Senior Trials:
- 2013
- 1st
- M1x
- GB Rowing Team Senior Trials:
- 2012
- 3rd
- M1x
- GB Rowing Team Senior Trials:
- 2010
- 5th
- M1x
More info...
Charles made his way into the sport by completing testing for the GB Rowing Team’s Start Programme at his local school and joining Rob Roy BC where he was taught to row by Adrian Cassidy.
He made his GB Rowing Team debut at the 2006 World Junior Championships in Amsterdam, finishing fifth in the men’s pair with Moe Sbihi, and raced with Bill Lucas in the double scull throughout 2007, appearing at two senior World Cups before winning bronze at the World U23 Championships in Glasgow.
They returned to the World U23s the following season to win a brilliant gold in Brandenburg and they also finished 11th at the European Championships in Athens. Charles was also part of the men’s quad that narrowly missed out on Beijing Olympic qualification during the 2008 World Cup series.
Club: Leander Club
Boat: Men’s Squad
Role: Rower
Coaches: Paul Stannard
Learnt to Row: Rob Roy in GB Rowing’s World Class Start Programme
Original Club(s): Rob Roy, Reading University Boat Club
Original Coach(es): Adrian Cassidy
Beyond the Boat
Cousins has a degree in psychology at Reading University. When not rowing, he enjoys travelling, scuba diving, playing guitar and learning foreign languages.
He is an Athlete Mentor for the Dame Kelly Holmes Trust and a Sporting Champions Mentor for Sport England.
Cousins was Lottery funded through UK Sport.
Personal information
Place of Birth | Current Address | Home Town | Region(s) |
---|---|---|---|
Cambridge | Cottenham | Willingham | Cambridge |
- Place of Birth:
- Cambridge
- Current Address:
- Cottenham
- Home Town:
- Willingham
- Region(s):
- Cambridge
Date of Birth | Weight | Height |
---|---|---|
13th December 1988 | 96kg | 198cm |
- Date of Birth:
- 13th December 1988
- Weight:
- 96kg
- Height:
- 198cm
Education |
---|
Reading University |
- Education:
- Reading University