Steve Williams (rower)

Stephen ('Steve') David Williams MBE (born 15 April 1976 in Leamington Spa [ [http://www.olympics.org.uk/beijing2008/athleteprofile.aspx?id=5659 Williams' Team GB profile] ] ) is an English rower and double Olympic champion.

Education

Williams started rowing aged 13 while at Monkton Combe School, Bath, and attended Oxford Brookes University to study History and Town planning.

International Rowing Career

Williams made his full international debut in 1998 at the age of 22. He partnered Fred Scarlett in the coxless pair, and came a creditable sixth in his first world championships. A year later he partnered Simon Dennis in the same event, this time finishing fifth. In 2000 both Scarlett and Dennis would win seats in the Eight for the Olympics in Sydney, but Williams just missed out, and instead was part of a coxed four which won a gold medal at the World Championships in Zagreb for non-Olympic events.

The following year he was again world champion, this time in the coxless four, and won the silver medal in the same discipline in both 2002 and 2003.

With Matthew Pinsent, James Cracknell and Ed Coode, Williams won Olympic gold at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens in the men's coxless four.

Williams was the only member of the 2004 Olympic crew to continue racing for the 2005 season, joining Alex Partridge, Peter Reed and Andrew Triggs-Hodge in the coxless four, again winning at the World Championships that year and in 2006, before coming a disappointing fourth at the 2007 world championships. In 2008, Partridge was replaced by Cambridge Blue Tom James, and despite an injury torn season, the quartet became Olympic Champions, defeating the Australian boat by 1.28s on the day dubbed 'Super Saturday' by the media, owing to the large GB medal haul. The Australians had led for much of the race, before an epic push by the British boat overhauled them in the last 400m.

Achievements

*Olympic Medals: 2 Gold
*World Championship Medals: 4 Gold, 2 Silver

Olympic Games

*2008 - Gold, Coxless Four (with Andy Hodge, Peter Reed, Tom James)
*2004 - Gold, Coxless Four (with Matthew Pinsent, James Cracknell, Ed Coode)

World Championships

*2007 - 4th, Coxless Four (with Peter Reed, Alex Partridge and Andrew Triggs-Hodge)
*2006 - Gold, Coxless Four (with Peter Reed, Alex Partridge and Andrew Triggs-Hodge)
*2005 - Gold, Coxless Four (with Peter Reed, Alex Partridge and Andrew Triggs-Hodge)
*2003 - Silver, Coxless Four (with Josh West, Rick Dunn and Toby Garbett)
*2002 - Silver, Coxless Four (with Josh West, Rick Dunn and Toby Garbett)
*2001 - Gold, Coxless Four (with Ed Coode, Rick Dunn and Toby Garbett)
*2000 - Gold, Coxed Four (with Alistair Potts, Rick Dunn, Toby Garbett and Graham Smith)
*1999 - 5th, Coxless Pair (with Simon Dennis)
*1998 - 6th, Coxless Pair (with Fred Scarlett)

ee also

*Leander Club (where Steve Williams is a member)

References

External links

* [http://www.bbc.co.uk/oxford/content/articles/2008/08/12/steve_williams_feature.shtml BBC Oxford - Steve Williams profile]