Sidney Rand (rower)
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| Born | 17 August 1934 Tottenham | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Died | 25 December 2008 (aged 74) Royal Berkshire Hospital, Reading, Berkshire | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | Rowing | ||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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Sidney Charles Rand (17 August 1934 – 25 December 2008) was an English rower who competed for Great Britain at the 1956 Summer Olympics and at the 1960 Summer Olympics. He won the Wingfield Sculls in 1954 and the Double Sculls Challenge Cup at Henley Royal Regatta in 1956.
Life and sport
Rand was born in
Second World War to 44 Irthlingborough Road, Finedon, Northants. After the war the family returned to Tottenham and Rand attended Down Lane School.[1] He started rowing on the River Lea in east London at the age of 14 where he sculled a Thames skiff until he was good enough for a fine boat.[2] He raced at various regattas such as the Norfolk Sculls in 1952[3] until, he joined the Royal Air Force on National Service that year. He was posted to RAF Benson, where as a corporal, he rowed for the RAF,[4] the force's rowing facilities being based with Wallingford Rowing Club across the River Thames
.
In 1954 Rand won the
Henley on Thames, where he joined Leander Club, working full-time for a Henley building firm. In 1955 he lost the final of the Diamond Challenge Sculls at Henley Royal Regatta, by a length and a half to Teodor Kocerka, but in 1956 won the Double sculls with his brother Bill Rand.[6] They were selected for the 1956 Summer Olympics in Melbourne where they were the fastest losers in the repechage. In 1960 Sid Rand competed in the single sculls at the 1960 Summer Olympics in Rome.[7]
In 1961 Rand met Olympic long-jumper Mary Bignal and she accepted his marriage proposal shortly after they met. He supported her at the 1964 Summer Olympics where she won gold, silver and bronze. The marriage ended after five years.[1]
After his international career, Rand turned to coaching at
Wargrave and Shiplake Regatta.[2]
Rand died of cancer at the Royal Berkshire Hospital aged 74.[1]
References
- ^ a b c d "Olympian who never lost love of rowing", Henley Standard, 12 January 2009. Archived 1 July 2016 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ a b Obituary of Sid Rand
- ^ Norfolk Sculls History
- ^ RAF Flight Global
- ^ Wingfield Sculls Record of Races
- ^ Henley Royal Regatta Results of Final Races 1946–2003
- ^ Olympic Record Sidney Rand