Gary Lynagh

Gary Lynagh OAM (born 4 June 1970) is an eleven time Australian national champion, three time World Champion and Olympian lightweight rower. He represented Australia at every premier international regatta from 1990 to 1998.

Gary Lynagh

Personal information
Birth name	Gary Joseph James Lynagh
Born	4 June 1970
Years active	1988–98
Sport
Sport	Rowing
Club	Commercial Rowing Club
Medal record Men's rowing Representing  Australia World Rowing Championships 1991 Vienna Lwt quad scull 1992 Montreal Lwt double scull 1993 Račice Lwt double scull 1994 Indianapolis Lwt four 1990 Tasmania Lwt quad scull Commonwealth Rowing Championships 1994 Ontario Lwt four

Club and state rowing

Lynagh's senior rowing was from the Commercial Rowing Club in Brisbane. He began contesting national lightweight championship sculling titles at Australian Rowing Championships in 1988 representing Commercial. In 1989 he was in a composite Queensland lightweight eight who won the national title and in 1990 he won two Australian national championships – the lightweight double scull and the quad scull titles.[1] He won the national championship quad in 1991, a single sculls title in 1992, the double scull in 1993 & 1994 and the quad in 1993, 1994 and 1996.[2] In 1996 in a composite Australian selection crew Lynagh also won the national lightweight coxless four title at the Australian Championships.[3]

He raced in the Queensland representative men's lightweight four who contested the Penrith Cup at the Interstate Regatta in 1992, 1995, 1996 and 1998 [4] He contested the heavyweight singles sculls championship – the President's Cup – representing Queensland in 1993 & 1994.

International representative rowing

Lynagh was first selected to represent Australia at Lake Barrington 1990 in the lightweight Australian quad scull. Lynagh rowed with Bruce Hick and two Tasmanians – Simon Burgess and Stephen Hawkins – to a bronze medal.[5] The following year at Vienna 1991 that same crew won gold and a World Championship title. They rowed through the field and won by 0.23 seconds.[6]

In 1992 Stephen Hawkins was selected in the Olympic heavyweight double scull and so the champion lightweight quad was broken up. At the 1992 lightweight World Championships Lynagh and Hick had success as a double winning the lightweight double scull world championship title .[7][8] They repeated this feat at Racice 1993.[9][10]

By Indianapolis 1994 Lynagh and Hick were rowing in the lightweight coxless four with South Australians Andrew Stunnell and James Seppelt. They took the silver medal.[9] Lynagh was back in the quad for Tampere 1995 – he stroked that crew to a sixth placing.[9]

In the 1995 Australia Day Honours Lynagh was awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia for "service to rowing".[11]

The 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta saw lightweight events introduced to the Olympic regatta for the first time. Lynagh was selected with his longstanding sculling partner Simon Burgess in the lightweight coxless four along with Haimish Karrasch and David Belcher. They made the Olympic final and placed sixth.[9]

Lynagh competed at all four World Rowing Cup events on the international calendar in 1997 and 1998. He was teamed with Anthony Edwards for the 1997 World Rowing Championships in Aiguebelette, stroking their double scull to fifth place.[9] At the 1998 World Rowing Championships in Cologne he raced a double scull with his old partner Bruce Hick and had a disappointing result, finishing second in the repechage and third in the C/D semi-final for an overall 12th placing. This was his last representative appearance for Australia.[12]

References

1. "1990 Austn C'ships". Archived from the original on 29 June 2018. Retrieved 2 May 2018.
2. Austn Quad C'ship History
3. ML4- Austn C'ship History
4. "1993 Austn Cships". Archived from the original on 7 July 2018. Retrieved 2 May 2018.
5. "1990 World c'ships". Archived from the original on 10 September 2018. Retrieved 2 May 2018.
6. "1991 World C'ships". Archived from the original on 21 April 2018. Retrieved 2 May 2018.
7. "1992 L'weight C'ships". Archived from the original on 11 May 2018. Retrieved 2 May 2018.
8. "Gary Lynagh". International Rowing Federation. Retrieved 25 November 2017.
9. Lynagh at World Rowing
10. "1993 World C'ships". Archived from the original on 11 July 2018. Retrieved 2 May 2018.
11. "Gary Joseph James Lynagh". honours.pmc.gov.au. Retrieved 9 August 2019.
12. "1998 World C'ships". Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 2 May 2018.