Alex Partridge
Encyclopedia
Alex Partridge (born 25 January 1981 in San Francisco) is a British rower
, and an Olympic silver medallist
, Bath, and attended Oxford Brookes University
to study Technology Management
. Double Olympic champion Steve Williams
, with whom Partridge won two world titles attended both the same school, and the same university, as did Rowley Douglas – cox of the British Rowing 8 at the 2000 Olympics in Sydney.
, Henry Adams and Dan Ouseley
, the crew met the standard to gain selection for the coxed four at the senior World Championships in Lucerne. Having reached the final, they proved to be particularly strong in the final 500m, rowing through the field to snatch the bronze medal on the line.
In 2002 and 2003 Alex raced in the Eight; the crew finished 6th at the World Championships, but stepped up in 2003 to win a bronze medal.
In 2004, Partridge won the GB Rowing Senior Selection Trials in the pair with Andrew Triggs Hodge
. This proved a headache for the selecters who had already shuffled the previous year's crews considerably, in the wake of Matthew Pinsent
and James Cracknell
's disappointing 4th place in the pair in Milan. Until the trials Pinsent and Cracknell had been training in a four with Steve Williams and Josh West
, but following the unexpected trials result replaced West with Partridge. Hodge remained in the Eight. However, following the World Cup in Lucerne, Partridge was diagnosed with a collapsed lung and had to withdraw from the athens Olympics; He was replaced in the coxless four by Ed Coode
, and the crew went onto win an Olympic final, to beat the Canadian four by just 0.08 seconds. Patridge, however, was first across the line; the crew had named their boat after him.
In 2005 Partridge returned to full fitness and regained his place in the men's four with Triggs Hodge, Peter Reed
and Williams, winning gold in the World Cups at Eton
, Munich and Lucerne and capping a the season by taking gold in the World Championships in Japan. The 2006 World Cup brought further success with gold in all of the World Cup events in Munich, Poznan and Lucerne and another World Championship victory in front of their home supporters at Dorney Lake
, Eton
.
The 2007 season proved to be far more disappointing; the previously unbeaten four was hit by injury, and although the full line up raced at the World Championships, they finished 4th – in startling contrast to their dominance of the previous two years.
In 2008, Partridge was replaced in the coxless four by quadruple Cambridge Blue Tom James
. Instead Partridge spent the season in the Eight, winning a silver medal in the Olympic final in Beijing
.
He returned to the men's Four in 2009 and won gold at the World Championships in Poznan on August 29, 2009 alongside Matthew Langridge, Alex Gregory and Ric Egington.
Sport rowing
Rowing is a sport in which athletes race against each other on rivers, on lakes or on the ocean, depending upon the type of race and the discipline. The boats are propelled by the reaction forces on the oar blades as they are pushed against the water...
, and an Olympic silver medallist
Education
Partridge started rowing at Monkton Combe SchoolMonkton Combe School
Monkton Combe School is an independent boarding and day school of the British public school tradition, near Bath, England. The Senior School is located in the village of Monkton Combe, while the Prep School, Pre-Prep and Nursery are in Combe Down on the southern outskirts of Bath...
, Bath, and attended Oxford Brookes University
Oxford Brookes University
Oxford Brookes University is a new university in Oxford, England. It was named to honour the school's founding principal, John Brookes. It has been ranked as the best new university by the Sunday Times University Guide 10 years in a row...
to study Technology Management
Technology Management
Technology Management is set of management disciplines that allows organizations to manage its technological fundamentals to create competitive advantage...
. Double Olympic champion Steve Williams
Steve Williams (rower)
Stephen David Williams OBE is an English rower and double Olympic champion.In April and May 2011, Steve will be taking part in Richard Parks'...
, with whom Partridge won two world titles attended both the same school, and the same university, as did Rowley Douglas – cox of the British Rowing 8 at the 2000 Olympics in Sydney.
International rowing career
Partridge first made his mark at senior level in 2001. Having won a silver medal in the four at the World U23 Championships with Christopher MartinChris Martin (rower)
-Early Rowing Career:Martin started rowing at 14 at Hampton School. At the end of his third year of rowing he raced as part of the British team and remained part of the British rowing team at six World Rowing Championships returning with a medal from each....
, Henry Adams and Dan Ouseley
Dan Ouseley
Dan Ouseley is a British rower.- External links :* at sports-reference.com...
, the crew met the standard to gain selection for the coxed four at the senior World Championships in Lucerne. Having reached the final, they proved to be particularly strong in the final 500m, rowing through the field to snatch the bronze medal on the line.
In 2002 and 2003 Alex raced in the Eight; the crew finished 6th at the World Championships, but stepped up in 2003 to win a bronze medal.
In 2004, Partridge won the GB Rowing Senior Selection Trials in the pair with Andrew Triggs Hodge
Andrew Triggs-Hodge
Andrew Triggs Hodge MBE is a British rower and an Olympic and double World Champion.- Education :...
. This proved a headache for the selecters who had already shuffled the previous year's crews considerably, in the wake of Matthew Pinsent
Matthew Pinsent
Sir Matthew Clive Pinsent CBE is an English rower and broadcaster. During his rowing career, he won 10 world championship gold medals and four consecutive Olympic gold medals, of which three were with Steve Redgrave...
and James Cracknell
James Cracknell
James Cracknell, OBE is a British rowing champion and double Olympic gold medalist and adventurer. Cracknell is married to TV and radio presenter Beverley Turner; they have three children. In the New Year Honours List, 2004, he was appointed OBE for services to sport...
's disappointing 4th place in the pair in Milan. Until the trials Pinsent and Cracknell had been training in a four with Steve Williams and Josh West
Josh West
Joshua "Josh" West is a British rower.-Early life:West is Jewish, was born in Santa Fe, New Mexico, United States. His mother is American, and his father is British.-Rowing career:...
, but following the unexpected trials result replaced West with Partridge. Hodge remained in the Eight. However, following the World Cup in Lucerne, Partridge was diagnosed with a collapsed lung and had to withdraw from the athens Olympics; He was replaced in the coxless four by Ed Coode
Ed Coode
Ed Coode, MBE is a British rower, twice World Champion and Olympic Gold medalist.Educated at Papplewick School, Ascot, Eton College, University of Newcastle upon Tyne and Oxford University, where he attended Keble College and rowed in the Oxford crew at the 1998 Boat Race.Coode won his first World...
, and the crew went onto win an Olympic final, to beat the Canadian four by just 0.08 seconds. Patridge, however, was first across the line; the crew had named their boat after him.
In 2005 Partridge returned to full fitness and regained his place in the men's four with Triggs Hodge, Peter Reed
Peter Reed (rower)
Peter Reed MBE is a British Olympic rower. Reed has achieved two gold medals and two silver medals in the World Championships, and in the 2008 Beijing Olympics, he earned a gold medal in the Men's coxless four.- Biography :Reed was born in Seattle, but his family moved to England several months...
and Williams, winning gold in the World Cups at Eton
Dorney Lake
Dorney Lake is a purpose-built rowing lake in the United Kingdom. It is located at grid reference near the village of Dorney, Buckinghamshire, and near the towns of Windsor and Eton, close to the River Thames. The lake is privately owned and financed by Eton College, who have spent £17 million...
, Munich and Lucerne and capping a the season by taking gold in the World Championships in Japan. The 2006 World Cup brought further success with gold in all of the World Cup events in Munich, Poznan and Lucerne and another World Championship victory in front of their home supporters at Dorney Lake
Dorney Lake
Dorney Lake is a purpose-built rowing lake in the United Kingdom. It is located at grid reference near the village of Dorney, Buckinghamshire, and near the towns of Windsor and Eton, close to the River Thames. The lake is privately owned and financed by Eton College, who have spent £17 million...
, Eton
Eton, Berkshire
Eton is a town and civil parish in Berkshire, England, lying on the opposite bank of the River Thames to Windsor and connected to it by Windsor Bridge. The parish also includes the large village of Eton Wick, 2 miles west of the town, and has a population of 4,980. Eton was in Buckinghamshire until...
.
The 2007 season proved to be far more disappointing; the previously unbeaten four was hit by injury, and although the full line up raced at the World Championships, they finished 4th – in startling contrast to their dominance of the previous two years.
In 2008, Partridge was replaced in the coxless four by quadruple Cambridge Blue Tom James
Tom James
Thomas James MBE is a Welsh rower, Olympic Champion, and victorious Cambridge Blue.-Education:James was educated at The King's School, Chester, where he took up the sport of rowing...
. Instead Partridge spent the season in the Eight, winning a silver medal in the Olympic final in Beijing
2008 Summer Olympics
The 2008 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXIX Olympiad, was a major international multi-sport event that took place in Beijing, China, from August 8 to August 24, 2008. A total of 11,028 athletes from 204 National Olympic Committees competed in 28 sports and 302 events...
.
He returned to the men's Four in 2009 and won gold at the World Championships in Poznan on August 29, 2009 alongside Matthew Langridge, Alex Gregory and Ric Egington.
World Championships
- 2011 BledBledBled is a municipality in northwestern Slovenia in the region of Upper Carniola. The area, within the Julian Alps, is a popular tourist destination.-History:...
- Silver Eight (four) - 2010 Karipiro - 4th Coxless Four
- 2009 PoznanPoznanPoznań is a city on the Warta river in west-central Poland, with a population of 556,022 in June 2009. It is among the oldest cities in Poland, and was one of the most important centres in the early Polish state, whose first rulers were buried at Poznań's cathedral. It is sometimes claimed to be...
– Gold, Coxless Four - 2007 MunichMunichMunich The city's motto is "" . Before 2006, it was "Weltstadt mit Herz" . Its native name, , is derived from the Old High German Munichen, meaning "by the monks' place". The city's name derives from the monks of the Benedictine order who founded the city; hence the monk depicted on the city's coat...
– 4th, Coxless Four (three) - 2006 EtonDorney LakeDorney Lake is a purpose-built rowing lake in the United Kingdom. It is located at grid reference near the village of Dorney, Buckinghamshire, and near the towns of Windsor and Eton, close to the River Thames. The lake is privately owned and financed by Eton College, who have spent £17 million...
– Gold, Coxless Four (three) - 2005 GifuGifu, Gifuis a city located in the south-central portion of Gifu Prefecture, Japan, and serves as the prefectural capital. The city has played an important role in Japan's history because of its location in the middle of the country. During the Sengoku period, various warlords, including Oda Nobunaga, used...
– Gold, Coxless Four (three) - 2003 MilanMilanMilan is the second-largest city in Italy and the capital city of the region of Lombardy and of the province of Milan. The city proper has a population of about 1.3 million, while its urban area, roughly coinciding with its administrative province and the bordering Province of Monza and Brianza ,...
– Bronze, Eight (bow) - 2002 SevilleSevilleSeville is the artistic, historic, cultural, and financial capital of southern Spain. It is the capital of the autonomous community of Andalusia and of the province of Seville. It is situated on the plain of the River Guadalquivir, with an average elevation of above sea level...
– 6th, Eight (bow) - 2001 LucerneLucerneLucerne is a city in north-central Switzerland, in the German-speaking portion of that country. Lucerne is the capital of the Canton of Lucerne and the capital of the district of the same name. With a population of about 76,200 people, Lucerne is the most populous city in Central Switzerland, and...
– Bronze, Coxed Four (three)
World Cups
- 2008 PoznańPoznanPoznań is a city on the Warta river in west-central Poland, with a population of 556,022 in June 2009. It is among the oldest cities in Poland, and was one of the most important centres in the early Polish state, whose first rulers were buried at Poznań's cathedral. It is sometimes claimed to be...
– Gold, Eight (bow) - 2008 LucerneLucerneLucerne is a city in north-central Switzerland, in the German-speaking portion of that country. Lucerne is the capital of the Canton of Lucerne and the capital of the district of the same name. With a population of about 76,200 people, Lucerne is the most populous city in Central Switzerland, and...
– Bronze, Eight (bow) - 2008 MunichMunichMunich The city's motto is "" . Before 2006, it was "Weltstadt mit Herz" . Its native name, , is derived from the Old High German Munichen, meaning "by the monks' place". The city's name derives from the monks of the Benedictine order who founded the city; hence the monk depicted on the city's coat...
– Silver, Eight (bow)
- 2007 AmsterdamAmsterdamAmsterdam is the largest city and the capital of the Netherlands. The current position of Amsterdam as capital city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands is governed by the constitution of August 24, 1815 and its successors. Amsterdam has a population of 783,364 within city limits, an urban population...
– Gold, Eight (bow) - 2007 LinzLinzLinz is the third-largest city of Austria and capital of the state of Upper Austria . It is located in the north centre of Austria, approximately south of the Czech border, on both sides of the river Danube. The population of the city is , and that of the Greater Linz conurbation is about...
– Gold, Coxless Four (three)
- 2006 LucerneLucerneLucerne is a city in north-central Switzerland, in the German-speaking portion of that country. Lucerne is the capital of the Canton of Lucerne and the capital of the district of the same name. With a population of about 76,200 people, Lucerne is the most populous city in Central Switzerland, and...
– Gold, Coxless Four (three) - 2006 PoznańPoznanPoznań is a city on the Warta river in west-central Poland, with a population of 556,022 in June 2009. It is among the oldest cities in Poland, and was one of the most important centres in the early Polish state, whose first rulers were buried at Poznań's cathedral. It is sometimes claimed to be...
– Gold, Coxless Four (three) - 2006 MunichMunichMunich The city's motto is "" . Before 2006, it was "Weltstadt mit Herz" . Its native name, , is derived from the Old High German Munichen, meaning "by the monks' place". The city's name derives from the monks of the Benedictine order who founded the city; hence the monk depicted on the city's coat...
– Gold, Coxless Four (three)
- 2005 LucerneLucerneLucerne is a city in north-central Switzerland, in the German-speaking portion of that country. Lucerne is the capital of the Canton of Lucerne and the capital of the district of the same name. With a population of about 76,200 people, Lucerne is the most populous city in Central Switzerland, and...
– Gold, Coxless Four (three) - 2005 MunichMunichMunich The city's motto is "" . Before 2006, it was "Weltstadt mit Herz" . Its native name, , is derived from the Old High German Munichen, meaning "by the monks' place". The city's name derives from the monks of the Benedictine order who founded the city; hence the monk depicted on the city's coat...
– Gold, Coxless Four (three) - 2005 EtonDorney LakeDorney Lake is a purpose-built rowing lake in the United Kingdom. It is located at grid reference near the village of Dorney, Buckinghamshire, and near the towns of Windsor and Eton, close to the River Thames. The lake is privately owned and financed by Eton College, who have spent £17 million...
– Gold, Coxless Four (three)
- 2004 LucerneLucerneLucerne is a city in north-central Switzerland, in the German-speaking portion of that country. Lucerne is the capital of the Canton of Lucerne and the capital of the district of the same name. With a population of about 76,200 people, Lucerne is the most populous city in Central Switzerland, and...
– Bronze, Coxless Four (three) - 2004 MunichMunichMunich The city's motto is "" . Before 2006, it was "Weltstadt mit Herz" . Its native name, , is derived from the Old High German Munichen, meaning "by the monks' place". The city's name derives from the monks of the Benedictine order who founded the city; hence the monk depicted on the city's coat...
– 5th, Coxless Four (three) - 2004 PoznańPoznanPoznań is a city on the Warta river in west-central Poland, with a population of 556,022 in June 2009. It is among the oldest cities in Poland, and was one of the most important centres in the early Polish state, whose first rulers were buried at Poznań's cathedral. It is sometimes claimed to be...
– Gold, Coxless Four (three)
- 2003 MunichMunichMunich The city's motto is "" . Before 2006, it was "Weltstadt mit Herz" . Its native name, , is derived from the Old High German Munichen, meaning "by the monks' place". The city's name derives from the monks of the Benedictine order who founded the city; hence the monk depicted on the city's coat...
– 3rd, Eight (bow)
- 2002 MunichMunichMunich The city's motto is "" . Before 2006, it was "Weltstadt mit Herz" . Its native name, , is derived from the Old High German Munichen, meaning "by the monks' place". The city's name derives from the monks of the Benedictine order who founded the city; hence the monk depicted on the city's coat...
– 6th, Eight (three) - 2002 LucerneLucerneLucerne is a city in north-central Switzerland, in the German-speaking portion of that country. Lucerne is the capital of the Canton of Lucerne and the capital of the district of the same name. With a population of about 76,200 people, Lucerne is the most populous city in Central Switzerland, and...
– 5th, Eight (three) - 2002 HazewinkelHazewinkelThe Hazewinkel is a Bloso 2,000 m rowing and regatta course in Heindonk, belonging to the municipality of Willebroek, near Mechelen, Belgium. The site consists of a finishing tower, boathouses, a cafeteria and eight basic huts that house athletes using the lake. The course hosts the Great...
– Gold, Eight (three)
- 2001 SevilleSevilleSeville is the artistic, historic, cultural, and financial capital of southern Spain. It is the capital of the autonomous community of Andalusia and of the province of Seville. It is situated on the plain of the River Guadalquivir, with an average elevation of above sea level...
– 7th, Coxless Four (three)
World Junior Championships
- 1999 Plovdiv Lake – Silver, Coxless Four
- 1998 LinzLinzLinz is the third-largest city of Austria and capital of the state of Upper Austria . It is located in the north centre of Austria, approximately south of the Czech border, on both sides of the river Danube. The population of the city is , and that of the Greater Linz conurbation is about...
– Bronze, Coxed Pair