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AUSTRALIAN OLYMPIC COMMITTEE on display in the Watermarks exhibition at the ANMM, Darling Harbo…
Quadruple rowing shell used by Oarsome Foursome
AUSTRALIAN OLYMPIC COMMITTEE on display in the Watermarks exhibition at the ANMM, Darling Harbour, Sydney.
Photographer Andrew Frolows, ANMM Collection

Quadruple rowing shell used by Oarsome Foursome

Maker
Designer
Datec 1991
Object number00031050
NameRowing scull
MediumFibreglass, wood, metal, cloth, paint, plastic
DimensionsOverall: 45 x 13400 x 568 mm
Vessel Dimensions: 12.88 m × 0.57 m (42.26 ft × 1.87 ft)
Total weight in cradle: 581Kgs
ClassificationsVessels and fittings
Credit LineANMM Collection
DescriptionThis quadruple rowing shell was used by the Oarsome Foursome™ to win the gold medal in the 2000 metres coxless fours event at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics. The Oarsome Foursome™ were James Tomkins (stroke), Nick Green (three), Mike Mckay (two) and Andrew Cooper (bow).HistoryThe modern Olympic Games have become the most important sporting event in the world. Over the past 100 years profound shifts in attitudes have reshaped approaches to training, female competitors, sponsorship and professionalism. Australian Olympic rowing has been no exception. Until 1980 Olympic rowers were solely male and strictly amateur. Going to the games meant funding your own trip, on your own time and training around the commitments of full-time work. Australian Olympic rowing was transformed in the 1980s by the government-funded Australian Institute of Sport and the inclusion of women. Television coverage attracted greater public interest and new sponsorship opportunities and Australian women rowers won their first gold medal in 1996. The Oarsome Foursome™ won successive Olympic gold medals in 1992 and 1996 in the Men's Coxless four event. A Melbourne journalist coined their catchy nickname in 1990. It became synonymous with the crew's awesome achievements and was crucial in lifting the public profile of Olympic rowing. After their first gold medal, the crew signed with a management team and several sponsors. In 1998 the Oarsome Foursome™ registered their name and logo with the Trademarks Office, giving them exclusive rights to use it within Australia.SignificanceThis quadruple rowing shell is significant because it was rowed by the Oarsome Foursome™ to win two world championships and a gold medal at the men's coxless fours at the 1992 Olympic Games in Barcelona.