Andy Holmes

Andrew John Holmes (15 October 1959 – 24 October 2010)[2] was a British rower.

This article is about the rower. For the footballer, see Andy Holmes (footballer).

Andy Holmes

Personal information
Full name	Andrew John Holmes[1]
Nationality	British
Born	(1959-10-15)15 October 1959 Uxbridge, Greater London
Died	24 October 2010(2010-10-24) (aged 51) London
Sport
Sport	Rowing
Club	Kingston Rowing Club, Leander Club
Medal record Men's rowing Representing Great Britain Olympic Games 1984 Los Angeles Coxed four 1988 Seoul Coxless pair 1988 Seoul Coxed pair World Rowing Championships 1986 Nottingham Coxed pair 1987 Copenhagen Coxless pair 1987 Copenhagen Coxed pair Representing England Commonwealth Games 1986 Strathclyde Coxed four 1986 Strathclyde Coxless pair
Updated on 10 August 2012.

Biography

Holmes was born in Uxbridge, Greater London, and was educated at Latymer Upper School in Hammersmith, west London, where he was coached by Olympic rowing silver medallist Jim Clark.[2] After leaving school, he rowed for Kingston Rowing Club and then Leander Club.[3] At the age of 19, he won the Thames Challenge Cup at Henley Royal Regatta.

He rowed twice in the Olympic Games (in 1984 and 1988) with Sir Steve Redgrave. He was a gold medalist in the men's coxed four in 1984 and in the men's coxless pair in 1988, when he also took bronze in the coxed pair. He also rowed for England in the 1986 Commonwealth Games in Edinburgh, Scotland.[4] winning the coxed four and the coxless pair competitions.[5],

He retired from rowing in 1990 and severed most contacts with the sport. His daughter only discovered her father's gold-medal-winning pedigree when reading about him in a book at school.[3]

He died in London in 2010 after contracting Weil's disease, a severe form of leptospirosis, which results from contact with urine from infected animals or ingesting water contaminated with urine from infected animals.[6] [7]

References

1. Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Andy Holmes". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 17 April 2020. Retrieved 6 November 2016.
2. Olympic Rowing Champion Andy Holmes dies aged 51, The Telegraph, 25 October 2010
3. "Andy Holmes – Obituary". Daily Telegraph. 25 October 2010. Retrieved 18 January 2011.
4. "1986 Athletes". Team England.
5. "Athletes and results". Commonwealth Games Federation.
6. Olympic rowing star Andy Holmes dies 'from water bug' Metro, 25 October 2010
7. Andy Holmes: Rower whose partnership with Steve Redgrave sparked a British renaissance in the sport, The Independent, 27 October 2010

External links

• "Andrew J. HOLMES" at FISA WorldRowing.com
• Obituary in The Guardian
• Andy Holmes interview by Nick Greenslade in The Observer newspaper, 5 March 2006
• Video of 1988 Olympic Pair race on YouTube