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Tim Foster

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Tim Foster
MBE
Personal information
Birth nameTimothy James Carrington Foster
NationalityEnglish
Born (1970-01-19) 19 January 1970 (age 54)
Bedford, Bedfordshire, England
EducationBedford Modern School
SpouseJoy Fahrenkrog
Sport
SportRowing
University teamUniversity of London Boat Club
Oxford University Boat Club
TeamGB Rowing Team
Coached byJürgen Gröbler
RetiredJuly 2001
Medal record
Men's rowing
Representing  Great Britain
Olympic Games
Gold medal – first place 2000 Sydney Coxless four
Bronze medal – third place 1996 Atlanta Coxless four
World Rowing Championships
Gold medal – first place 1997 Aiguebelette Coxless four
Gold medal – first place 1998 Cologne Coxless four
Silver medal – second place 1995 Tampere Coxless four
Silver medal – second place 1999 St. Catharines Eight
Bronze medal – third place 1989 Bled Eight
Bronze medal – third place 1991 Vienna Eight
Bronze medal – third place 1994 Indianapolis Coxless four
Updated on 5 March 2014

Timothy James Carrington Foster, MBE (born 19 January 1970) is an English rower who won a gold medal at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, Australia.[1]

Career

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He began rowing at Bedford Modern School and competed in the World Rowing Junior Championships in 1987 and 1988.[2] In the latter he competed in a pair with Matthew Pinsent.[1] He became the first British rower to win gold medals at two consecutive Junior Worlds. From there he proceeded into the senior squad.[1]

In 1993 he underwent back surgery but was straight back in the boat for the 1994 season, winning Bronze in the coxless four at the World Championships.[1] This boat stayed together until the 1996 Olympics, where they won Bronze.[1]

Following his Olympic medal, he continued his university studies at Oxford, competing in the 1997 Boat Race.[3]

In 1997 he won a seat in the coxless four alongside Steve Redgrave, Matthew Pinsent and James Cracknell.[1] In the run up to the Olympics, he again needed back surgery and time off after severing tendons in his hand by punching a window at a boat club party.[1] In August 2000, the month prior to winning gold in Sydney, a three-part BBC documentary entitled Gold Fever was broadcast.[1] This followed the coxless four team in the years leading up to the Olympics, including video diaries recording the highs and lows in the quest for gold.[1] Despite the problems Foster had had, he was in the final crew and they won the gold medal at the Sydney 2000 Olympics.[4] He was awarded an MBE for his part in this in 2001.[5][6]

After Sydney, he retired from international rowing, and retired as an active rower in July 2001.[1] After a stint coaching at the University of London Boat Club, he joined the UK Sport-sponsored Elite Coach Programme in 2004.[7] In January 2007, he became the head coach of the Swiss national rowing squad.[8] He remained in this role until 2012, and now works as a business coach.

Personal life

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At the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, Foster proposed to Joy Fahrenkrog, a four-time member of the United States Archery Team.[9] The pair met in 2000 while Joy was studying at the London School of Economics and rowing for the University of London Boat Club.[9] His brother Jason was the team manager for the England Rowing Team and head of rowing at George Watson's College, Edinburgh.[10]

Achievements

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Olympic Games

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World Championships

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  • 1999: Silver, Eight[11]
  • 1998: Gold, Coxless Four (with James Cracknell, Matthew Pinsent, Steve Redgrave)[11]
  • 1997: Gold, Coxless Four (with James Cracknell, Matthew Pinsent, Steve Redgrave)[11]
  • 1995: Silver, Coxless Four[11]
  • 1994: Bronze, Coxless Four[11]
  • 1993: Injured, did not compete in World Championships[11]
  • 1991: Bronze, Eight[11]
  • 1990: 4th, Coxless Four (with Martin Cross, Peter Mulkerrins, Gavin Stewart)[11]
  • 1989 – Bronze, Eight[11]

Junior World Championships

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  • 1988: Gold, Coxless Pair (with Matthew Pinsent)[11]
  • 1987: Gold, Coxless Four[11]

Bibliography

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  • Four Men in a Boat (2004) ISBN 0-297-84725-2[1]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Ross, Rory; Foster, Tim (1 April 2019). Four men in a boat. ISBN 9781780227467. OCLC 870978841.
  2. ^ School of the Black and Red, by Andrew Underwood, updated 2010
  3. ^ "An evening with Tim Foster MBE - Oxford Brookes University". www.brookes.ac.uk. Retrieved 1 April 2019.
  4. ^ Rob Bagchi (7 December 2011). "50 stunning Olympic moments No4: Steve Redgrave's fifth gold medal". The Guardian.
  5. ^ "Tim Foster MBE - Olympic Speaker - Champions Olympic". Champions Olympic Speakers. Retrieved 1 April 2019.
  6. ^ "Gold medallists rewarded". 30 December 2000. Retrieved 1 April 2019 – via news.bbc.co.uk.
  7. ^ "British International Rowing Office - Biographies". Archived from the original on 14 October 2006. Retrieved 18 January 2007.
  8. ^ "Foster takes top Swiss rowing job". BBC News. 19 December 2006.
  9. ^ a b "Joy Fahrenkrog, Timothy Foster". 6 June 2009. Retrieved 1 April 2019 – via NYTimes.com.
  10. ^ "Rowing - George Watson's College". Gwc.org.uk. Retrieved 31 October 2017.
  11. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r "Tim Foster MBE - Olympic Rowing Gold Medalist - Gordon Poole Agency". Gordon Poole Agency Ltd. Retrieved 1 April 2019.
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