Kieran West
Encyclopedia
Kieran Martin West, MBE
(born 18 September 1977) is a British
rower
and Olympic champion.
, West was educated at Dulwich College
, in south-east London
, before going to Christ's College, Cambridge
in 1995, to study for a BA
in Economics
and Land Economy
, followed by a PGCE
in Mathematics
three years later. On graduating from his second degree he taught Mathematics
at King's College School, Wimbledon for two years, before returning to his studies in 2004. Changing discipline, he first read for an MA
in War Studies
at King's College London
, and then a PhD
in First World War
Strategy
and Military Intelligence
at Pembroke College, Cambridge
.
at Kingston Rowing Club
aged 10. When he quickly outgrew this role he started sculling
and won the National Rowing Championships
in a single scull
at his age category when 15, then trialled for the British under-18 rowing team. Although initially successful, he suffered a severe lower back injury and was forced to retire from sport for three years to undergo intensive physiotherapy.
West rehabilitated himself back into a boat, finally rowing again in spring 1997. After a term of rowing for his college
in the May Bumps
he rowed in the Cambridge
Goldie crew in the 1998 Boat Race
, losing to Isis after an equipment failure two-thirds of the way down the course.
West represented Great Britain for the first time in 1998, and made the Cambridge Blue Boat
in 1999, rowing in the six seat, a position he would take in all his Cambridge crews. Considered by many to have been one of the fastest crews the Club had produced, Cambridge went on to win comfortably in the second fastest time in Boat Race
history.
Selected to represent Great Britain again that summer, and with the opportunity to go to his first Olympic Games
, West took a year out of his studies to concentrate on his rowing. While away he was elected President of the Cambridge University Boat Club
for the 2001 Boat Race
campaign. Despite having lost both the Boat Race
and the Isis-Goldie Race in 2000, Cambridge comfortably beat Oxford exactly six months after West's Sydney final
. Goldie also beat Isis that year, giving Cambridge the clean sweep, the last time this would happen for six years. West was subsequently voted 'Cambridge Sports Personality of the Year, 2000/2001'.
Although he initially finished at Cambridge
in 2001, West returned in 2005 and rowed in the 2006 Boat Race
. Cambridge were favourites for the 2006 Race but rough conditions on the day led to Cambridge taking on a significant amount of water and coming close to sinking, leaving Oxford to pull away to victory.
The following year Cambridge were even stronger favourites and, with five returning members of the 2006 crew, were keen to put the record straight. After a tighter than expected early section of the race, Cambridge pulled away after twelve minutes to win. As the rules of the Boat Race
state that no athlete can participate in more than four races as an undergraduate and four races as a graduate (the "Rankov Rule"), this was West's last for Cambridge. Throughout the season the crew had been accompanied by an ethnographer, Mark De Rond, who subsequently wrote a book on the season's experiences, 'The Last Amateurs: To Hell and Back with the Cambridge Boat Race Crew'.
West joined the British rowing team after the 2007 Boat Race but retired from international rowing two months later to concentrate on his academic studies.
West's three wins from four Boat Races
makes him one of the most successful Cambridge rowing Blues, after Chris Baillieu
who won four from four, while the eight years between his first and last Cambridge appearances is the longest span in Boat Race
history. West was also the first member of Cambridge University
to win the Olympic Games
while still a student.
in the Double Scull at the under-23 World Rowing Championships in Ioannina
, Greece
. The following year he was selected to row in the Men's Eight at the World Rowing Championships
.
The 1999 crew, coached by Martin Mcelroy and Harry Mahon
is the most successful British Eight to date. It was second at all three regattas in the 1999 Rowing World Cup
, broke the British record on two occasions and came close to breaking the world record. At the World Rowing Championships
it briefly led the final, the first British eight ever to do so, before taking a silver medal behind the 1997 and 1998 World Champions, USA, the highest finish position of a British Eight at a World Rowing Championships
.
West took a year out of his studies to concentrate on preparing for the 2000 Sydney Olympics. The crew had two changes from the previous year and was even more successful in the early season, taking two gold medals and one silver from the Rowing World Cup
and becoming the first British Eight to win the event outright.
At the Olympic Games Britain were the joint favourites for the gold medal, alongside the USA, who had not raced internationally that season. A poor row in the first round, West's 23rd birthday, saw them lose to a strong Australian crew, but they won the repechage
. In the final
Britain led from start to finish to win the Gold medal for the first time since the 1912 Stockholm Olympic Games
. Australia took the silver. The crew of Andrew Lindsay
, Ben Hunt-Davis
, Simon Dennis
, Louis Attrill
, Luka Grubor
, Kieran West, Fred Scarlett
, Steve Trapmore
and Rowley Douglas
were all subsequently awarded the MBE
for 'services to rowing' in the 2001 New Years Honours List.
Though selected for the British Eight in 2001, West was unable to compete at the World Rowing Championships
due to a rib injury followed by a shoulder injury sustained earlier that season. The following year West stroked the British Coxed Four to a gold medal at the 2002 World Rowing Championships
in Seville
. The crew also contained two of the 2000 British Eight, Luka Grubor
and Steve Trapmore
, and two members of the 2001 Cambridge Blue Boat
, Tom Stallard
and Christian Cormack
. The following year West and Stallard
were again in the Coxed Four and took a silver medal at the World Championships in Milan
.
West continued rowing internationally for the next three years, in the Men's Eight at the 2004 Athens Olympics, stroking the Eight to fourth place at the 2005 World Championships
in Gifu
, and back in the six seat of the Eight at the 2006 World Championships
in Eton
. He retired in the summer of 2007.
, the World Rowing Championships
, the Rowing World Cup
, the Oxford-Cambridge Boat Race
, the Head of the River Race
, the Head of the River Fours
, and he came out of retirement in 2008 to win the Visitors' Challenge Cup
at Henley Royal Regatta
, in a composite crew representing Imperial College London
and Kingston Rowing Club
.
West remains a member of Kingston Rowing Club
. His last race was for Pembroke College Boat Club
first men's eight, in the 6 seat, who were one of only two crews in the Mays first division to receive blades in 2009, the other being Magdalene College Boat Club.
West's older brother, Damian, is also an international oarsman, who rowed for Oxford University Boat Club
in the 1996 Boat Race and for Great Britain from 1993 to 1997.
City of Cambridge Rowing Club
own a mens eight named in West's honour: "Kieran West, MBE". The boat was originally owned by Christ's College, Cambridge, where West was studying during his first period at Cambridge.
. The following month he started work at McKinsey & Co. in London.
Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
(born 18 September 1977) is a British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
rower
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 Olympic champion.
Education
Born in Kingston upon ThamesKingston upon Thames
Kingston upon Thames is the principal settlement of the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames in southwest London. It was the ancient market town where Saxon kings were crowned and is now a suburb situated south west of Charing Cross. It is one of the major metropolitan centres identified in the...
, West was educated at Dulwich College
Dulwich College
Dulwich College is an independent school for boys in Dulwich, southeast London, England. The college was founded in 1619 by Edward Alleyn, a successful Elizabethan actor, with the original purpose of educating 12 poor scholars as the foundation of "God's Gift". It currently has about 1,600 boys,...
, in south-east London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, before going to Christ's College, Cambridge
Christ's College, Cambridge
Christ's College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge.With a reputation for high academic standards, Christ's College averaged top place in the Tompkins Table from 1980-2000 . In 2011, Christ's was placed sixth.-College history:...
in 1995, to study for a BA
Bachelor of Arts
A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...
in Economics
Economics
Economics is the social science that analyzes the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services. The term economics comes from the Ancient Greek from + , hence "rules of the house"...
and Land Economy
Land economy
Land economy is the study of law, economics, and the environment. The University of Cambridge and Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology are currently the only universities in the world offering such a degree at undergraduate level....
, followed by a PGCE
Postgraduate Certificate in Education
The Postgraduate Certificate in Education is a one-year course in England, Wales and Northern Ireland for undergraduate degree holders that allows them to train to be a teacher....
in Mathematics
Mathematics
Mathematics is the study of quantity, space, structure, and change. Mathematicians seek out patterns and formulate new conjectures. Mathematicians resolve the truth or falsity of conjectures by mathematical proofs, which are arguments sufficient to convince other mathematicians of their validity...
three years later. On graduating from his second degree he taught Mathematics
Mathematics
Mathematics is the study of quantity, space, structure, and change. Mathematicians seek out patterns and formulate new conjectures. Mathematicians resolve the truth or falsity of conjectures by mathematical proofs, which are arguments sufficient to convince other mathematicians of their validity...
at King's College School, Wimbledon for two years, before returning to his studies in 2004. Changing discipline, he first read for an MA
Master of Arts (postgraduate)
A Master of Arts from the Latin Magister Artium, is a type of Master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The M.A. is usually contrasted with the M.S. or M.Sc. degrees...
in War Studies
War studies
War studies is the multi-disciplinary study of war. It is distinct from military history in that it encompasses a variety of fields:*Laws of war*Philosophy of war**Ethics of war***Just War Theory**Deterrence theory*Psychology of war...
at King's College London
King's College London
King's College London is a public research university located in London, United Kingdom and a constituent college of the federal University of London. King's has a claim to being the third oldest university in England, having been founded by King George IV and the Duke of Wellington in 1829, and...
, and then a PhD
Doctor of Philosophy
Doctor of Philosophy, abbreviated as Ph.D., PhD, D.Phil., or DPhil , in English-speaking countries, is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities...
in First World War
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
Strategy
Military strategy
Military strategy is a set of ideas implemented by military organizations to pursue desired strategic goals. Derived from the Greek strategos, strategy when it appeared in use during the 18th century, was seen in its narrow sense as the "art of the general", 'the art of arrangement' of troops...
and Military Intelligence
Military intelligence
Military intelligence is a military discipline that exploits a number of information collection and analysis approaches to provide guidance and direction to commanders in support of their decisions....
at Pembroke College, Cambridge
Pembroke College, Cambridge
Pembroke College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge, England.The college has over seven hundred students and fellows, and is the third oldest college of the university. Physically, it is one of the university's larger colleges, with buildings from almost every century since its...
.
Early career
West was introduced to rowing by his father, Richard, and began coxingCoxswain (rowing)
In a crew, the coxswain is the member who sits in the stern facing the bow, steers the boat, and coordinates the power and rhythm of the rowers.- Role :The role of a coxswain within a crew is to:...
at Kingston Rowing Club
Kingston Rowing Club
Kingston Rowing Club is an amateur rowing club, based in England, founded in 1858.The club is one of the world's oldest and most successful amateur rowing clubs...
aged 10. When he quickly outgrew this role he started sculling
Sculling
Sculling generally refers to a method of using oars to propel watercraft in which the oar or oars touch the water on both the port and starboard sides of the craft, or over the stern...
and won the National Rowing Championships
National rowing championships
The British Rowing Championships takes place every year. In general, once every four years the event is held at Strathclyde Country Park, the other three years it is held at the National Water Sports Centre, Holme Pierrepont...
in a single scull
Single scull
A single scull is a rowing boat used in the sport of competitive rowing. It is designed for a single person who propels the boat with two oars, one in each hand....
at his age category when 15, then trialled for the British under-18 rowing team. Although initially successful, he suffered a severe lower back injury and was forced to retire from sport for three years to undergo intensive physiotherapy.
The Boat Race
For his first two years at CambridgeUniversity of Cambridge
The University of Cambridge is a public research university located in Cambridge, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest university in both the United Kingdom and the English-speaking world , and the seventh-oldest globally...
West rehabilitated himself back into a boat, finally rowing again in spring 1997. After a term of rowing for his college
Christ's College Boat Club
Christ's College Boat Club is the rowing club for members of Christ's College, Cambridge. It inhabits the oldest wooden framed boathouse on the river, the nearest to Jesus Lock....
in the May Bumps
May Bumps
The May Bumps are a set of rowing races, held annually on the River Cam in Cambridge. They began in 1887 after separating from the Lent Bumps, the equivalent bumping races held at the end of February or start of March. Prior to the separation there had been a single set of annual bumps dating from...
he rowed in the Cambridge
Cambridge University Boat Club
The Cambridge University Boat Club is the rowing club of the University of Cambridge, England, located on the River Cam at Cambridge, although training primarily takes place on the River Great Ouse at Ely. The club was founded in 1828...
Goldie crew in the 1998 Boat Race
The Boat Race
The event generally known as "The Boat Race" is a rowing race in England between the Oxford University Boat Club and the Cambridge University Boat Club, rowed between competing eights each spring on the River Thames in London. It takes place generally on the last Saturday of March or the first...
, losing to Isis after an equipment failure two-thirds of the way down the course.
West represented Great Britain for the first time in 1998, and made the Cambridge Blue Boat
Blue Boat
The Blue Boat is the highest level boat representing the University of Oxford or the University of Cambridge in the Universities' annual rowing clash on the River Thames: The Boat Race...
in 1999, rowing in the six seat, a position he would take in all his Cambridge crews. Considered by many to have been one of the fastest crews the Club had produced, Cambridge went on to win comfortably in the second fastest time in Boat Race
The Boat Race
The event generally known as "The Boat Race" is a rowing race in England between the Oxford University Boat Club and the Cambridge University Boat Club, rowed between competing eights each spring on the River Thames in London. It takes place generally on the last Saturday of March or the first...
history.
Selected to represent Great Britain again that summer, and with the opportunity to go to his first Olympic Games
Olympic Games
The Olympic Games is a major international event featuring summer and winter sports, in which thousands of athletes participate in a variety of competitions. The Olympic Games have come to be regarded as the world’s foremost sports competition where more than 200 nations participate...
, West took a year out of his studies to concentrate on his rowing. While away he was elected President of the Cambridge University Boat Club
Cambridge University Boat Club
The Cambridge University Boat Club is the rowing club of the University of Cambridge, England, located on the River Cam at Cambridge, although training primarily takes place on the River Great Ouse at Ely. The club was founded in 1828...
for the 2001 Boat Race
The Boat Race
The event generally known as "The Boat Race" is a rowing race in England between the Oxford University Boat Club and the Cambridge University Boat Club, rowed between competing eights each spring on the River Thames in London. It takes place generally on the last Saturday of March or the first...
campaign. Despite having lost both the Boat Race
The Boat Race
The event generally known as "The Boat Race" is a rowing race in England between the Oxford University Boat Club and the Cambridge University Boat Club, rowed between competing eights each spring on the River Thames in London. It takes place generally on the last Saturday of March or the first...
and the Isis-Goldie Race in 2000, Cambridge comfortably beat Oxford exactly six months after West's Sydney final
Rowing at the 2000 Summer Olympics
Final results for the Rowing events at the 2000 Summer Olympics:The event is probably most noted for Steve Redgrave's winning his fifth Olympic gold medal in as many games in the British men's coxless four. However, there were a number of other dramatic races. Both the men's and women's single...
. Goldie also beat Isis that year, giving Cambridge the clean sweep, the last time this would happen for six years. West was subsequently voted 'Cambridge Sports Personality of the Year, 2000/2001'.
Although he initially finished at Cambridge
University of Cambridge
The University of Cambridge is a public research university located in Cambridge, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest university in both the United Kingdom and the English-speaking world , and the seventh-oldest globally...
in 2001, West returned in 2005 and rowed in the 2006 Boat Race
The Boat Race
The event generally known as "The Boat Race" is a rowing race in England between the Oxford University Boat Club and the Cambridge University Boat Club, rowed between competing eights each spring on the River Thames in London. It takes place generally on the last Saturday of March or the first...
. Cambridge were favourites for the 2006 Race but rough conditions on the day led to Cambridge taking on a significant amount of water and coming close to sinking, leaving Oxford to pull away to victory.
The following year Cambridge were even stronger favourites and, with five returning members of the 2006 crew, were keen to put the record straight. After a tighter than expected early section of the race, Cambridge pulled away after twelve minutes to win. As the rules of the Boat Race
The Boat Race
The event generally known as "The Boat Race" is a rowing race in England between the Oxford University Boat Club and the Cambridge University Boat Club, rowed between competing eights each spring on the River Thames in London. It takes place generally on the last Saturday of March or the first...
state that no athlete can participate in more than four races as an undergraduate and four races as a graduate (the "Rankov Rule"), this was West's last for Cambridge. Throughout the season the crew had been accompanied by an ethnographer, Mark De Rond, who subsequently wrote a book on the season's experiences, 'The Last Amateurs: To Hell and Back with the Cambridge Boat Race Crew'.
West joined the British rowing team after the 2007 Boat Race but retired from international rowing two months later to concentrate on his academic studies.
West's three wins from four Boat Races
The Boat Race
The event generally known as "The Boat Race" is a rowing race in England between the Oxford University Boat Club and the Cambridge University Boat Club, rowed between competing eights each spring on the River Thames in London. It takes place generally on the last Saturday of March or the first...
makes him one of the most successful Cambridge rowing Blues, after Chris Baillieu
Chris Baillieu
Christopher Latham "Chris" Baillieu MBE is a British former rower who competed in the 1976 Summer Olympics and in the 1980 Summer Olympics. He was the first chairman of British Swimming, from 2001 to 2008.-Early life:...
who won four from four, while the eight years between his first and last Cambridge appearances is the longest span in Boat Race
The Boat Race
The event generally known as "The Boat Race" is a rowing race in England between the Oxford University Boat Club and the Cambridge University Boat Club, rowed between competing eights each spring on the River Thames in London. It takes place generally on the last Saturday of March or the first...
history. West was also the first member of Cambridge University
University of Cambridge
The University of Cambridge is a public research university located in Cambridge, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest university in both the United Kingdom and the English-speaking world , and the seventh-oldest globally...
to win the Olympic Games
Olympic Games
The Olympic Games is a major international event featuring summer and winter sports, in which thousands of athletes participate in a variety of competitions. The Olympic Games have come to be regarded as the world’s foremost sports competition where more than 200 nations participate...
while still a student.
International rowing career
West's international rowing career began in 1998, when he competed for Great Britain with Mark HunterMark Hunter (rower)
Mark John Hunter MBE is a British rower.In 2007 he partnered Zac Purchase in the Great Britain Lightweight Men's Double Scull. They won medals at each World Cup Regatta through the season. At the World Rowing Championships in Munich-Oberschleissheim they won a Bronze medal...
in the Double Scull at the under-23 World Rowing Championships in Ioannina
Ioannina
Ioannina , often called Jannena within Greece, is the largest city of Epirus, north-western Greece, with a population of 70,203 . It lies at an elevation of approximately 500 meters above sea level, on the western shore of lake Pamvotis . It is located within the Ioannina municipality, and is the...
, Greece
Greece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
. The following year he was selected to row in the Men's Eight at the World Rowing Championships
World Rowing Championships
The World Rowing Championships is an international rowing regatta organized by FISA . It is a week long event held at the end of the northern hemisphere summer and in non-Olympic years is the highlight of the international rowing calendar.The first event was held in Lucerne, Switzerland in 1962...
.
The 1999 crew, coached by Martin Mcelroy and Harry Mahon
Harry Mahon
Harry Mahon, OBE was a rowing coach. He coached international crews from New Zealand, Switzerland, South Africa and Great Britain to success at World Championships and Olympic Games...
is the most successful British Eight to date. It was second at all three regattas in the 1999 Rowing World Cup
Rowing World Cup
The World Rowing Cup is an international rowing competition organized by FISA . It first began in 1997 and comprises three regattas held throughout early summer. In each event points are awarded to the top seven finishing boats and an overall winner determined after the last world cup regatta...
, broke the British record on two occasions and came close to breaking the world record. At the World Rowing Championships
World Rowing Championships
The World Rowing Championships is an international rowing regatta organized by FISA . It is a week long event held at the end of the northern hemisphere summer and in non-Olympic years is the highlight of the international rowing calendar.The first event was held in Lucerne, Switzerland in 1962...
it briefly led the final, the first British eight ever to do so, before taking a silver medal behind the 1997 and 1998 World Champions, USA, the highest finish position of a British Eight at a World Rowing Championships
World Rowing Championships
The World Rowing Championships is an international rowing regatta organized by FISA . It is a week long event held at the end of the northern hemisphere summer and in non-Olympic years is the highlight of the international rowing calendar.The first event was held in Lucerne, Switzerland in 1962...
.
West took a year out of his studies to concentrate on preparing for the 2000 Sydney Olympics. The crew had two changes from the previous year and was even more successful in the early season, taking two gold medals and one silver from the Rowing World Cup
Rowing World Cup
The World Rowing Cup is an international rowing competition organized by FISA . It first began in 1997 and comprises three regattas held throughout early summer. In each event points are awarded to the top seven finishing boats and an overall winner determined after the last world cup regatta...
and becoming the first British Eight to win the event outright.
At the Olympic Games Britain were the joint favourites for the gold medal, alongside the USA, who had not raced internationally that season. A poor row in the first round, West's 23rd birthday, saw them lose to a strong Australian crew, but they won the repechage
Repechage
Repechage is a practice amongst ladder competitions that allows participants that failed to meet qualifying standards by a small margin to continue to the next round.- Types of repechage :...
. In the final
Rowing at the 2000 Summer Olympics
Final results for the Rowing events at the 2000 Summer Olympics:The event is probably most noted for Steve Redgrave's winning his fifth Olympic gold medal in as many games in the British men's coxless four. However, there were a number of other dramatic races. Both the men's and women's single...
Britain led from start to finish to win the Gold medal for the first time since the 1912 Stockholm Olympic Games
1912 Summer Olympics
The 1912 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the V Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event held in Stockholm, Sweden, between 5 May and 27 July 1912. Twenty-eight nations and 2,407 competitors, including 48 women, competed in 102 events in 14 sports...
. Australia took the silver. The crew of Andrew Lindsay
Andrew Lindsay
Andrew Lindsay is a British competition rower and Olympic champion.Lindsay won a gold medal in coxed eights at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, as a member of the British rowing team....
, Ben Hunt-Davis
Ben Hunt-Davis
Benedict Hunt-Davis was a British competition rower and Olympic Champion.Ben was educated at Shiplake College, Henley-on-Thames in Oxfordshire...
, Simon Dennis
Simon Dennis
Simon Dennis MBE is a British rower and Olympic gold medalist.He started rowing at St Paul's School, London, coached by Michael Streat and his first international appearance was in 1994 in the GB eight at the Junior World Rowing Championships, winning a bronze medal...
, Louis Attrill
Louis Attrill
Louis Attrill is a British rower and Olympics gold medallist.Attrill took up rowing at Shanklin Rowing Club on the Isle of Wight and won novice at Milford regatta. The following year he furthered his interest in the sport at Imperial College Boat Club in 1993. Previously he had played rugby and...
, Luka Grubor
Luka Grubor
Luka Grubor is a competition rower, born in Zagreb, who competed for Yugoslavia and Croatia, and became Olympic champion for Great Britain....
, Kieran West, Fred Scarlett
Fred Scarlett
Fred Scarlett is an Olympic gold medalist as a British rower.He took up rowing at The King's School Canterbury, and was Captain of Boats in his final year. At Oxford Brookes University, he won two Henley Royal Regatta medals, in the Temple Challenge Cup, and the Visitors Challenge Cup...
, Steve Trapmore
Steve Trapmore
Stephen Patrick 'Steve' Trapmore is an English competition rower and Olympic champion.Trapmore won a gold medal in coxed eights at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, as a member of the British rowing team....
and Rowley Douglas
Rowley Douglas
Rowley Douglas is a competition rower and Olympic champion for Great Britain.Douglas won a gold medal in coxed eights at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, as a member of the British rowing team.-References:...
were all subsequently awarded the MBE
Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
for 'services to rowing' in the 2001 New Years Honours List.
Though selected for the British Eight in 2001, West was unable to compete at the World Rowing Championships
World Rowing Championships
The World Rowing Championships is an international rowing regatta organized by FISA . It is a week long event held at the end of the northern hemisphere summer and in non-Olympic years is the highlight of the international rowing calendar.The first event was held in Lucerne, Switzerland in 1962...
due to a rib injury followed by a shoulder injury sustained earlier that season. The following year West stroked the British Coxed Four to a gold medal at the 2002 World Rowing Championships
World Rowing Championships
The World Rowing Championships is an international rowing regatta organized by FISA . It is a week long event held at the end of the northern hemisphere summer and in non-Olympic years is the highlight of the international rowing calendar.The first event was held in Lucerne, Switzerland in 1962...
in Seville
Seville
Seville 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...
. The crew also contained two of the 2000 British Eight, Luka Grubor
Luka Grubor
Luka Grubor is a competition rower, born in Zagreb, who competed for Yugoslavia and Croatia, and became Olympic champion for Great Britain....
and Steve Trapmore
Steve Trapmore
Stephen Patrick 'Steve' Trapmore is an English competition rower and Olympic champion.Trapmore won a gold medal in coxed eights at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, as a member of the British rowing team....
, and two members of the 2001 Cambridge Blue Boat
Blue Boat
The Blue Boat is the highest level boat representing the University of Oxford or the University of Cambridge in the Universities' annual rowing clash on the River Thames: The Boat Race...
, Tom Stallard
Tom Stallard
Thomas Alexander Stallard is a professional rower. He won a silver medal at the 2008 Summer Olympics for Great Britain in the Mens eight.-References:...
and Christian Cormack
Christian Cormack
Christian Cormack is a British rowing cox. He competed for the British National Team between 1996 and 2004, winning four medals at the World Rowing Championships including a gold in 2002...
. The following year West and Stallard
Tom Stallard
Thomas Alexander Stallard is a professional rower. He won a silver medal at the 2008 Summer Olympics for Great Britain in the Mens eight.-References:...
were again in the Coxed Four and took a silver medal at the World Championships in Milan
Milan
Milan 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 ,...
.
West continued rowing internationally for the next three years, in the Men's Eight at the 2004 Athens Olympics, stroking the Eight to fourth place at the 2005 World Championships
World Rowing Championships 2005
The 28th World Rowing Championships were held at the Nagaragawa International Regatta Course, Kaizu, Gifu, Japan, between August 28 and September 4, 2005. The international rowing season usually ends with the World Championship regatta. Apart from the Olympics this is the most prestigious...
in Gifu
Kaizu, Gifu
is a city located in the southwest portion of Gifu Prefecture, Japan. Most of the city is located at sea level and is well-known for levees surrounding the area. The city was formed on March 28, 2005 through a merger of the towns of Kaizu, Hirata and Nannō, all belonging to Kaizu...
, and back in the six seat of the Eight at the 2006 World Championships
World Rowing Championships 2006
The 29th World Rowing Championships were held at the Dorney Lake, Eton, Great Britain, between August 20 and August 27, 2006.-Men's Results:-Women's Results:-Medal count:-External links:*Archive of **...
in 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...
. He retired in the summer of 2007.
Sporting achievements
In the course of his rowing career West won every major international and domestic rowing event: the Olympic GamesRowing at the Summer Olympics
Rowing at the Summer Olympics has been part of the competition since the 1900 Summer Olympics. Rowing was on the program at the 1896 Summer Olympics but was cancelled due to bad weather. Only men were allowed to compete until the women's events were introduced at the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal...
, the World Rowing Championships
World Rowing Championships
The World Rowing Championships is an international rowing regatta organized by FISA . It is a week long event held at the end of the northern hemisphere summer and in non-Olympic years is the highlight of the international rowing calendar.The first event was held in Lucerne, Switzerland in 1962...
, the Rowing World Cup
Rowing World Cup
The World Rowing Cup is an international rowing competition organized by FISA . It first began in 1997 and comprises three regattas held throughout early summer. In each event points are awarded to the top seven finishing boats and an overall winner determined after the last world cup regatta...
, the Oxford-Cambridge Boat Race
The Boat Race
The event generally known as "The Boat Race" is a rowing race in England between the Oxford University Boat Club and the Cambridge University Boat Club, rowed between competing eights each spring on the River Thames in London. It takes place generally on the last Saturday of March or the first...
, the Head of the River Race
Head of the River Race
The Head of the River Race is a processional rowing race held annually on the River Thames in London, England, on the 4.25 mile Championship Course from Mortlake to Putney.-History:...
, the Head of the River Fours
Head of the River Fours
The Fuller's Head of the River Fours is a processional rowing race held annually on the Tideway of the River Thames in London on the 4¼ mile Championship Course from Mortlake to Putney.-History:...
, and he came out of retirement in 2008 to win the Visitors' Challenge Cup
Visitors' Challenge Cup
The Visitors Challenge Cup is a rowing event for men's coxless fours at the annual Henley Royal Regatta on the River Thames at Henley-on-Thames in England. It is open to male crews from all eligible rowing clubs and has similar qualifying rules to the Ladies' Challenge Plate. Two or more clubs may...
at Henley Royal Regatta
Henley Royal Regatta
Henley Royal Regatta is a rowing event held every year on the River Thames by the town of Henley-on-Thames, England. The Royal Regatta is sometimes referred to as Henley Regatta, its original name pre-dating Royal patronage...
, in a composite crew representing Imperial College London
Imperial College London
Imperial College London is a public research university located in London, United Kingdom, specialising in science, engineering, business and medicine...
and Kingston Rowing Club
Kingston Rowing Club
Kingston Rowing Club is an amateur rowing club, based in England, founded in 1858.The club is one of the world's oldest and most successful amateur rowing clubs...
.
West remains a member of Kingston Rowing Club
Kingston Rowing Club
Kingston Rowing Club is an amateur rowing club, based in England, founded in 1858.The club is one of the world's oldest and most successful amateur rowing clubs...
. His last race was for Pembroke College Boat Club
Pembroke College Boat Club (Cambridge)
Pembroke College Boat Club is the rowing club for members of Pembroke College, Cambridge. Over the last century, crews from Pembroke have held the headship of the men's Lent Bumps on four occasions, and the headship of the men's May Bumps ten times...
first men's eight, in the 6 seat, who were one of only two crews in the Mays first division to receive blades in 2009, the other being Magdalene College Boat Club.
West's older brother, Damian, is also an international oarsman, who rowed for Oxford University Boat Club
Oxford University Boat Club
The Oxford University Boat Club is the rowing club of the University of Oxford, England, located on the River Thames at Oxford. The club was founded in the early 19th century....
in the 1996 Boat Race and for Great Britain from 1993 to 1997.
City of Cambridge Rowing Club
City of Cambridge Rowing Club
City of Cambridge Rowing Club or "city" is the oldest 'town' rowing and sculling club in Cambridge, UK, and with about 300 members, it has one of the largest active rowing memberships in the region...
own a mens eight named in West's honour: "Kieran West, MBE". The boat was originally owned by Christ's College, Cambridge, where West was studying during his first period at Cambridge.
Other
On 8 August 2009, West married Lourina Pretorius from South Africa, a former student at Newnham College, CambridgeNewnham College, Cambridge
Newnham College is a women-only constituent college of the University of Cambridge, England.The college was founded in 1871 by Henry Sidgwick, and was the second Cambridge college to admit women after Girton College...
. The following month he started work at McKinsey & Co. in London.
Olympic Games
- 2004 Athens — 9th, Eight
- 2000 Sydney — Gold, Eight
World Championships
- 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...
— 5th, Eight - 2005 GifuKaizu, Gifuis a city located in the southwest portion of Gifu Prefecture, Japan. Most of the city is located at sea level and is well-known for levees surrounding the area. The city was formed on March 28, 2005 through a merger of the towns of Kaizu, Hirata and Nannō, all belonging to Kaizu...
— 4th, Eight - 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 ,...
— Silver, Coxed Four - 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...
— Gold, Coxed Four - 1999 St. Catharines— Silver, Eight