1974 -

The illustrious Olympic career of Drew Ginn, winner of three gold medals, was ignited when a slot in the Oarsome Foursome coxless fours crew became available before the 1996 Atlanta Olympics. Andrew Cooper had withdrawn from the crew which had won gold in Barcelona in 1992, leaving James Tomkins, Mike McKay and Nick Green. Rowing selectors tried several candidates before settling on the 21-year-old. Ginn was a gifted athlete, having won school colours in four different disciplines at Melbourne’s Scotch College. He had impressed the Foursome’s coach, Noel Donaldson, when he went overseas with Australia’s under-23 eight in 1994. After a few early settling-in problems with his older team-mates, Ginn became a valuable member of the Foursome crew, which went on to win gold in Atlanta.

Ginn and Tomkins, 10 years his senior, later teamed up, and won the 1999 pairs world championship. They were favoured for gold at the Sydney 2000 Games, but Ginn was forced to withdraw, a prolapsed disc in his back causing horrific pain. Tomkins rowed at short notice with an emergency, Matthew Long --- and they won bronze. After two years of rehabilitation and recovery work, Ginn talked with Tomkins about trying again … and they agreed to give it a go. They rowed perfectly to win gold in Athens in 2004. Afterwards, with the 2008 Beijing Games ahead, Ginn linked up with Duncan Free, who had won bronze in quad sculls in 1996. They won two world titles together, then - despite further back pain for Ginn during the Games - went on to win Beijing gold in commanding fashion.  

Harry Gordon, AOC Historian