Alastair Gordon

Gordon's Australian representative debut came in 1996 when he was selected to row a coxless pair with Daniel Burke at the World Rowing U23 Championships in Hazewinkel. They rowed to a silver .^[3] In 1997 he secured a seat in the Australian men's senior eight. He raced in the eight at two World Rowing Cups in Europe that year and then at the Henley Royal Regatta as an Australian Institute of Sport crew they contested and won the 1997 Grand Challenge Cup. At the 1997 World Rowing Championships in Aiguebelette, France he rowed in the six seat for their third placing in the final and to a bronze medal.^[3]

He held his seat in the Australian eight in 1998 and raced at the 1998 World Rowing Championships in Cologne to a sixth-place finish.^[3] Then in 1999 he was again the eight competing at the 1999 World Rowing Championships in St Catharine's Canada to a seventh-place finish.^[3]

In the 2000 Olympic year Gordon was secure in the Australian eight. He rowed in both World Rowing Cup races in Europe in their lead up campaign as well as at the Henley Royal Regatta where they raced as an Australian Institute of Sport eight and won that year's Grand Challenge Cup.^[4] At Sydney 2000 the Australian eight won their heat in a pace that blew away the eventual gold medallists Great Britain. However, in the final they started slowly and their late sprint home left them 0.8 seconds behind the Brits at the line and taking the silver Olympic medal in a thrilling finish.^[5][3]

Gordon's record in winning two Grand Challenge Cups at the Henley Royal Regatta is a rare feat for British rowers, but never before achieved by an Australian oarsman.

• Alastair Gordon at World Rowing
• Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Alastair Gordon". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 18 April 2020.