Drew Ginn

ROWING

Nickname

Robin. He also describes himself as a 'Jack of all trades, master of none'. (VIS, 01 Apr 2003; drewginn.blogspot.com, 27 Dec 2011)

Hobbies

Surfing, computers, golf, spending time with his family. (FISA, 03 Sep 2003; drewginn.com, 27 Dec 2011)

Occupation

Athlete, Business Owner, Coach, Consultant

Family

Wife Melanie, daughter Kyra and son Jasper

Language(s) spoken

English

Club name

Mercantile Rowing Club, Melbourne, VIC, AUS

Coach

Chris O'Brien, (AUS) (drewginn.blogspot.com, 07 Oct 2011)

Sporting relatives

He competed at the 1984 and 1985 BMX World Championships, finishing third in the U10 category and sixth in the U11s. (oarsomefoursome.com.au, 01 Apr 2003) He has won a gold medal at the Oceania cycling championships. (sbs.com.au, 14 Apr 2011)

Debut

1995 for Australia (bluearth.org, 15 Jan 2007)

Injuries

In April 2010 a rib stress fracture prevented him from taking part in the national trials. (sbs.com.au, 14 Apr 2011)

He underwent surgery on his back in September 2008. Doctors performed a micro-discectomy to repair a ruptured disc in the L4/L5 region of his lower back. He spent six weeks lying on his back while recovering from the operation. (Herald Sun, 05 Sep 2008)

He was forced to withdraw from the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney after he was diagnosed with a prolapsed disc in his back only eight weeks before the start of competition. After two years of rehabilitation and recovery he returned to competition. (NOC, 15 Nov 2007)

Additional information

Start of sporting career
He started rowing in 1991 at Scotch College in Melbourne, Australia. (scotch.vic.edu.au, 15 Jan 2007)

Reason for taking up this sport
He said in 2011, "Being an athlete was a childhood dream, to be able to achieve Olympic success at three different games over 16 years has been a dream come true. Now at 36 I find my self still enjoying the challenge of elite sport. The learning and application of that learning within life has become more important though. Finding the dynamic balance with family, work, training and competing is what life is all about now.
From now I feel energy, focus and connection are essential for great performances and it enables greater learning. Why say why? When you can say why not."
(drewginn.com, 27 Dec 2011)

Ambitions
To win a gold medal at the 2012 London Olympic Games, and possibly compete at a fifth Games in Brazil in 2016. (sbs.com.au, 14 Apr 2011)

"At this stage my sights are set on London and I will be grateful if I make it and compete at my best. Beyond that I certainly don't rule anything out but seriously I probably don't see it happening. I will always be active but probably look towards other challenges. Rio does sound like fun though." (worldrowing.com, 24 Nov 2011)

Training
"If left to my old devices I would rise late, have a coffee, watch my kids have breakfast, check my emails and wait until the inspiration sets in and I finally decide to train. My non-preferred mornings are ones where I need to be up early and getting to training as the sun is coming up. I am a slow starter in this respect. Strange but as the day goes on I get better or at least feel better. I become clearer and more engaged in the world around me. Training flows easily for me once the day has already been established. Eventually I find even training late at night a joy. At the start of the day I need coffee as a heart and head starter, but in the evening I find my energy levels have been imagining challenges which triggers an ambitious and often late surge." (drewginn.blogspot.com, 27 Dec 2011)

Most memorable sporting achievement
"In sport I have been fortunate enough to achieve success in the form of three Olympic gold medals and two of them correspond with the birth of my two children which I must say eclipse the sporting successes. I have a love and gratitude for life, family, friends and challenges that inspires me to step out of my comfort zone once in a while." (drewginn.blogspot.com, 27 Dec 2011)

Hero
Swiss tennis player Roger Federer. (VIS, 23 Jul 2007)

Sporting philosophy / motto
"Trust the pilot." (Rowing Australia, 01 Apr 2003)

"To have a vision is important, to be able to enjoy life working out ways to make that vision a reality is cool, fun and amazingly rewarding. I figure if you can visualise it, you can make it happen."

"Why say why? When you can say why not."
(drewginn.com, 27 Dec 2011)

Awards
Won the 2007 Australian Rower's Rower of the Year award. (The Australian, 10 Dec 2007)

Named, along with Duncan Free, as the International Rowing Federation's [FISA] Crew of the Year for 2007. Also won the award with James Tomkins in 2003. (AAP, 11 Nov 2007)

Was named in the Australian Olympic Committee's '50 of Our Finest' list which listed athletes who were among the greatest to have represented Australia at the Olympic Games. (NOC, 15 Jan 2007)

Named Rowing Australia's 2006 Male Crew of the Year with Duncan Free. (Rowing Australia, 15 Jan 2007)

In 2003 he and crewmate James Tomkins were the first Australian rowers to be granted early selection to an Olympic team when they were selected for the coxless pairs at the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens. He repeated the feat for the 2008 Olympic Games when he and crewmate Duncan Free were named to the Olympic team in November 2007 ahead of the selection trials. (AAP, 26 Nov 2007)

He received an Australian Sports Medal in 2000. (elitesports.com.au, 01 Apr 2003)

He was awarded an Order of Australia Medal [OAM] in 1997, together with the other members of the 'oarsome foursome'. (Rowing Australia, 01 Apr 2003)

General
GOING FOR GOLD IN 2012
After winning gold in 1996 and back to back coxless pairs golds in Athens and Beijing, he has set his sights on a fourth gold in London to become Australia's most successful Olympic oarsman. It would leave him one gold behind Briton Steve Redgrave's record tally. "That's not lost on me but it's not something I focus on," he said. "I think for me, I look at guys like Sir Steve Redgrave, and I look at guys like James Tomkins, and the various people that have done amazing things in the sport over long periods of time and I feel like I'm just a kid hoping to do something." After two bouts of back surgery, he was not sure London 2012 would be a possibility. "I probably had it in the back of my mind, wanting to have a go at London, but I just didn't know if I'd be able to do that with my back. Middle of 2010 I said, 'right I'll give rowing a go' and I set some deadlines for myself and my back's held up really well." (sbs.com.au, 14 Apr 2011)

DEALING WITH BACK PAIN
He suffered back pain at the 2008 Olympic Games and even decided to stop training after qualifying for the men's pairs final [which he still won] due to the pain, which was spreading down the sciatic nerve in his leg. He even moved out of the Olympic Village to be closer to the rowing course to avoid the hour-long bus ride. In 2011 he spoke of his long-term back problems, "I think most athletes in rowing can put up with lots of pain and discomfort. With the lower back injuries I guess my perception of what's painful has changed over the years so maybe my threshold has increased. I figure when I'm focused, it is possible to block out or see past the pain, so my thing would be that great focus helps." (Herald Sun 05 Sep 2008; worldrowing.com, 24 Nov 2011)

BUSINESS CAREER
Since 2006 he has owned Qualia Consulting, an organisational and professional training and coaching business. Since 2005 he has worked as an associate at Mt Eliza Executive Education, and from 2010 served as a director with Energy Impact Group, both of which are also organisational consultants. He has also co-owned the retail business Podium Bike Hub from 2008. "Most of my current work is as a facilitator and coach working with corporates. It involves energy and energy management as well as leadership and team development." (LinkedIn Profile, 27 Dec 2011; worldrowing.com, 24 Nov 2011)

OARSOME FOURSOME
He joined Australia's much-loved 'oarsome foursome' coxless four combination in 1995. The foursome won back-to-back gold medals at the 1992 and 1996 Olympic Games and were household names in Australia. He stepped in to fill the place of Andrew Cooper when he retired in 1995. (FISA, 01 Apr 2003)

Previous Olympics

Beijing 2008, Athens 2004, Atlanta 1996