Zac Purchase
Encyclopedia
Zachary Jake Nicholas 'Zac' Purchase MBE
(born 2 May 1986) is an English rower
.
Born in Cheltenham
, Purchase started rowing in 1999 at the King's School, Worcester. He competed at the Junior World Rowing Championships
in 2003 and 2004. In 2005 he competed on the World Cup
circuit in the lightweight
men's single sculls, finishing fourth at Dorney Lake
and second at Munich-Oberschleissheim. Purchase became under-23 world champion at the 2005 world U-23 championships at Amsterdam, before taking silver at the 2005 World Rowing Championships
at Gifu
, Japan.In 2006, Purchase continued in the lightweight men's single and won his first World Cup event at Lucerne
, before becoming the World Champion at the 2006 World Rowing Championships at Dorney Lake
setting a new World Record. He is the current Lightweight single sculling world record holder.
In 2007 he partnered Mark Hunter
in the Great Britain Lightweight Men's Double Scull. They medalled at each World Cup Regatta through the season. At the World Rowing Championships in Munich-Oberschleissheim they won a Bronze medal. The following year, their double dominated the lightweight event, winning all of their races, and finishing the season as Olympic champions in Beijing, setting a new Olympic Record. After a year off in 2009, he and Hunter won Gold at the 2010 World Championships at Lake Karapiro in New Zealand.
Purchase was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the 2009 New Year Honours for services to sport and collected his award in June of that year.
Purchase has also recently become engaged to long term partner Felicity Hill, also a former pupil and rower at the King's School, Worcester where they met.
in honour of his olympic gold-medal win.
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 2 May 1986) is an English 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...
.
Born in Cheltenham
Cheltenham
Cheltenham , also known as Cheltenham Spa, is a large spa town and borough in Gloucestershire, on the edge of the Cotswolds in the South-West region of England. It is the home of the flagship race of British steeplechase horse racing, the Gold Cup, the main event of the Cheltenham Festival held...
, Purchase started rowing in 1999 at the King's School, Worcester. He competed at the Junior World Rowing Championships
Junior World Rowing Championships
The World Rowing Junior Championships is an international rowing regatta organized by FISA . A rower or coxswain shall be classified as a Junior until 31st December of the year in which he reaches the age of 18. After that date, he shall be classified as an Under 23 rower...
in 2003 and 2004. In 2005 he competed on the 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...
circuit in the lightweight
Lightweight rowing
Lightweight rowing is a special category of rowing where limits are placed on the maximum weight of competitors. The rationale is that larger, taller people have a small but significant physical advantage and tend to dominate the sport...
men's single sculls, finishing fourth 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...
and second at Munich-Oberschleissheim. Purchase became under-23 world champion at the 2005 world U-23 championships at Amsterdam, before taking silver at the 2005 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...
at Gifu
Gifu, Gifu
is 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...
, Japan.In 2006, Purchase continued in the lightweight men's single and won his first World Cup event at Lucerne
Lucerne
Lucerne 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...
, before becoming the World Champion at the 2006 World Rowing Championships 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...
setting a new World Record. He is the current Lightweight single sculling world record holder.
In 2007 he partnered Mark Hunter
Mark 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 Great Britain Lightweight Men's Double Scull. They medalled at each World Cup Regatta through the season. At the World Rowing Championships in Munich-Oberschleissheim they won a Bronze medal. The following year, their double dominated the lightweight event, winning all of their races, and finishing the season as Olympic champions in Beijing, setting a new Olympic Record. After a year off in 2009, he and Hunter won Gold at the 2010 World Championships at Lake Karapiro in New Zealand.
Purchase was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the 2009 New Year Honours for services to sport and collected his award in June of that year.
Purchase has also recently become engaged to long term partner Felicity Hill, also a former pupil and rower at the King's School, Worcester where they met.
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:...
– Gold, Lightweight Double Scull (bow) - 2010 Lake KarapiroLake KarapiroLake Karapiro is an artificial reservoir lake on the Waikato River in the North Island of New Zealand. The lake, near Cambridge and some south-east of the city of Hamilton, was created in 1947 to store water for the Karapiro Power Station, the last of the eight hydroelectric power stations on the...
– Gold, Lightweight Double Scull (bow) - 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...
– Bronze, Lightweight Double Scull (bow) - 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, Lightweight Single Scull - 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...
– Silver, Lightweight Single Scull - 2005 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, Lightweight Single Scull (U23 World Championships)
World Cups
- 2008 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, Lightweight Double Scull (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...
– Gold, Lightweight Double Scull (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...
– Gold, Lightweight Double Scull (bow)
- 2007 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, Lightweight Double Scull (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...
– Silver, Lightweight Double Scull (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...
– Silver, Lightweight Double Scull (bow)
- 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, Lightweight Single Scull
- 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...
– Silver, Lightweight Single Scull - 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...
– 4th, Lightweight Single Scull
King's School Worcester Boat Naming
On 27 November 2008, Zac Purchase officially named an eight rowing boat at The King's School, WorcesterThe King's School, Worcester
The King's School, Worcester is an English independent school refounded by Henry VIII in 1541. It occupies a site adjacent to Worcester Cathedral on the banks of the River Severn in the centre of the city of Worcester...
in honour of his olympic gold-medal win.