On Saturday (3rd August), 35-year-old Great Britain’s Henry Fieldman created history by becoming the first person in Olympic history to win a medal in both men’s and women’s events.
Fieldman was a member of the Great Britain team that claimed a bronze medal in the men’s eight rowing event at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics. At the Paris 2024 Olympics, Fieldman was a member of the bronze medal-winning Great Britain’s women’s eight rowing team.
How did Henry Fieldman become the first Olympic medallist in both men’s and women’s events?
Thanks to a rule change in 2017, coxswains can be of the opposite sex in a team rowing event. A coxswain doesn’t row but steers the boat and faces forward (towards the bow).
During the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, Henry Fieldman coxed the Great Britain team in the men’s eight event, where his team clinched the bronze medal.
The two-time world champion Fieldman was also a coxswain for Great Britain in the women’s eight event at the Paris 2024 Olympics. Apart from him, the other team members were Heidi Long, Rowan McKellar, Holly Dunford, Emily Ford, Lauren Irwin, Eve Stewart, Harriet Taylor, and Annie Campbell-Orde.
Team Great Britain clocked 5:59.51 to secure the bronze medal in the event. With this bronze medal, Fieldman created history by becoming the first player in the Olympics to win medals in both men’s and women’s events.
In the women’s eight at the Paris 2024 Olympics, Romania won the gold (5:54.39) and Canada claimed the silver medal (5:58.84).
