Chris Bartley

Rower // Lightweight Men's Squad
Date of Birth: 2nd Feb 1984 (40 years old)
Club: Leander Club
Height: 178.00
Hometown: Chester

Chris Bartley profile image

Lightweight rower Chris Bartley competed at his second Olympic Games in 2016, having won a silver medal at his first one.

Chris Bartley was part of the lightweight men’s four that missed out on gold by less than a second during a dramatic final at London 2012 and finished seventh in the same boat in Rio four years later.

His international rowing career began in 2005 with a silver medal in the Under 23 lightweight men’s quad, which he followed up with a gold medal in 2006 in the lightweight pair. Bartley made his senior debut the same year, still in the lightweight pair, finishing sixth. After winning bronze in the lightweight quad in 2007 and coming sixth again in the lightweight pair in 2008, he was selected for the Olympic class lightweight four in 2009, and continued to row in that boat through to 2016, winning gold in 2010, bronze in 2011, silver at London 2012, silver in 2013 and bronze in 2014.

He announced his retirement from international rowing after Rio 2016, and became a rowing coach.

A former World Champion at senior and U23 level, Chris was a silver-medallist at the London 2012 Olympic Games

On The Water

2016

European Silver Medallist Lightweight Men's Four

2014

World Bronze Medallist Lightweight Men's Four

European Silver Medallist Lightweight Men's Four

2013

World Bronze Medallist Lightweight Men's Four

2012

Olympic Silver Medallist Lightweight Men's Four

2011

World Bronze Medallist Lightweight Men's Four

2010

World Champion Lightweight Men's Four

2007

World Bronze Medallist Lightweight Men's Quadruple Scull

2006

World U23 Champion Lightweight Men's Pair

2005

World U23 Silver Medallist Lightweight Men's Quadruple Scull

 

Rio 2016 Olympiad: 2013-2016

After a tough winter of training and trialing, Chris was once again selected alongside Mark Aldred, Jono Clegg and Peter Chambers in the lightweight men’s four for the 2016 season. They made an impressive start, finishing runners-up to the World Champions from Switzerland at the European Championships in Brandenburg. The GB four then finished fifth at the World Cup in Lucerne but returned to the podium at the Poznan World Cup after winning bronze.

The four were runners-up in their opening heat at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games but had to settle for fourth place in the semi-final. They ended the regatta on a strong note, though, by winning the B final to finish seventh overall.

Chris and the lightweight four had a challenging 2015, finishing ninth at the World Championships, but achieved their main objective by qualifying for the Rio 2016 Olympic Games.

In a season where different combinations were tested, Chris and Mark Aldred were the only rowers to race in all four international regattas.   After fourth-place finishes at the European Championships in Poznan and World Cup in Varese, they missed out on the A final in Lucerne but won an exciting B final after an excellent race for the line with Spain.

Chris started the Rio Olympiad by winning bronze with the four at the 2013 World Championships in Chungju, having earlier claimed World Cup silver and bronze in Sydney and Eton respectively.

The 2014 season saw Chris and Mark joined in the lightweight four by the Chambers brothers, Richard and Peter.  After winning a hard-fought silver at the European Championships, third-placed finishes followed at the World Cups in Aiguebelette and Lucerne before another bronze was secured in a competitive World Championships final in Amsterdam.

London 2012 Olympiad: 2009 – 2012

Chris, having enjoyed a successful rise through the junior and U23 ranks, moved into the Olympic-class lightweight men’s four in 2009 and reached the A final in all three World Cup regattas but had to settle for 13th place at the World Championships.

However, there was a massive turnaround in fortunes in 2010 as Chris, Richard Chambers, Paul Mattick and Rob Williams enjoyed an exceptional season. After winning two World Cup golds and a silver, Chris secured the first World title of his career in a dramatic final in New Zealand where just eight-hundredths of a second separated the top three.

Mark Aldred, Peter Chambers, Chris Bartley and Richard Chambers won lightweight men's four bronze at the 2014 World Championships in Amsterdam

The same four came from sixth to win bronze at the 2011 World Championships in Bled, having won World Cup gold and bronze in Lucerne and Munich respectively.

Chris, Richard and Rob were joined by Peter Chambers for the 2012 season. They won silver in Belgrade and bronze in Lucerne before finishing the World Cup series with gold in Munich. An extremely close Olympic final at Eton Dorney saw the GB four finish just two-tenths of a second behind South Africa but hold off Denmark to secure silver.

GB Competitive Record

Olympic Games
Rio de Janeiro 2016 7th LM4-
London 2012 LM4-
Olympic Games:
Rio de Janeiro 2016
7th
LM4-
Olympic Games:
London 2012
LM4-
World Rowing Championships
2015 9th LM4-
2014 LM4-
2013 LM4-
2011 LM4-
2010 LM4-
2009 13th LM4-
2008 12th LM2-
2007 LM4x
2006 6th LM2-
World Rowing Championships:
2015
9th
LM4-
World Rowing Championships:
2014
LM4-
World Rowing Championships:
2013
LM4-
World Rowing Championships:
2011
LM4-
World Rowing Championships:
2010
LM4-
World Rowing Championships:
2009
13th
LM4-
World Rowing Championships:
2008
12th
LM2-
World Rowing Championships:
2007
LM4x
World Rowing Championships:
2006
6th
LM2-
European Rowing Championships
2016 LM4-
2015 4th LM4-
2014 LM4-
European Rowing Championships:
2016
LM4-
European Rowing Championships:
2015
4th
LM4-
European Rowing Championships:
2014
LM4-
World Rowing Cup Regattas
2016 Poznan LM4-
2016 Lucerne 5th LM4-
2015 Lucerne 7th LM4-
2015 Varese 4th LM4-
World Rowing Cup Regattas:
2016 Poznan
LM4-
World Rowing Cup Regattas:
2016 Lucerne
5th
LM4-
World Rowing Cup Regattas:
2015 Lucerne
7th
LM4-
World Rowing Cup Regattas:
2015 Varese
4th
LM4-
World Rowing U23 Championships
2006 LM2-
2005 LM4x
World Rowing U23 Championships:
2006
LM2-
World Rowing U23 Championships:
2005
LM4x
GB Rowing Team Senior Trials
2016 3rd LM2-
2015 10th LM1x
2012 8th LM1x
2010 9th M2-
GB Rowing Team Senior Trials:
2016
3rd
LM2-
GB Rowing Team Senior Trials:
2015
10th
LM1x
GB Rowing Team Senior Trials:
2012
8th
LM1x
GB Rowing Team Senior Trials:
2010
9th
M2-

More info...

Chris earned his first GB Rowing Team vest as a junior in the Coupe de la Jeunesse.

During his first year of U23 trialing in 2005, he stroked a lightweight men’s quad featuring Richard Chambers to a silver medal in Amsterdam.

Chris and Richard forged an impressive lightweight pair partnership in 2006, winning gold at the World U23 Championships in Hazewinkel.  That earned them selection for the senior World Championships at Eton Dorney, where they finished a solid sixth.

After winning bronze in the lightweight quad at the 2007 World Championships, Chris returned to the pair for 2008 and finished 12th at the non-Olympic World Championships in Linz-Ottensheim.

Club: Leander Club
Boat: Lightweight Men’s Squad
Role: Rower
Coaches: Rob Morgan
Learnt to Row: King’s School, Chester
Original Club(s): King’s School Chester Rowing Club
Original Coach(es): Neville Orme, Matthew Hackett

Beyond the Boat

Chris – who started rowing aged 14 at King’s School, Chester – is the assistant rowing coach at Sir William Borlase’s Grammar School in Marlow and enjoys photography, working freelance at times.

Cycling is also a passion – his ideal job outside of rowing would be bike mechanic for a pro-cycling team and he has huge respect for Jens Voigt, the recently-retired professional road cyclist. “Jens always put on a great show during racing while remaining a great role model for young athletes.” A year’s subscription to Cycle Sport magazine would be one of Chris’s three items for a desert island, along with an iPod and his cat, Florence.

Bradley Wiggins would be among his ideal dinner party guests, along with Billy Connolly and Kurt Cobain. His music choice for training is “any kind of metal, the louder the better!”

Chris can spin a basketball on his finger “like a pro”.

Chris is Lottery funded through UK Sport.

Personal information

Place of Birth Current Address Home Town Region
Wrexham Henley-on-Thames Chester Cheshire
Place of Birth:
Wrexham
Current Address:
Henley-on-Thames
Home Town:
Chester
Region:
Cheshire
Date of Birth Height
2nd February 1984 178cm
Date of Birth:
2nd February 1984
Height:
178cm
Education
King’s School Chester, University of Nottingham
Education:
King’s School Chester, University of Nottingham