Matt Aldridge
British rower (born 1996)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Matt Aldridge (born 11 March 1996) is a British sweep-rower who stroked the men's coxless four to consecutive European and world titles in 2022 and 2023 and won an Olympic bronze medal at the 2024 Summer Olympics.[1]
Aldridge in Oberschleißheim, 2022 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Full name | Matthew Aldridge | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Nationality | British | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | 11 March 1996 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Country | Great Britain | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | Rowing | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Event | Fours | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Club | Oxford Brookes University Boat Club | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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Early life and education
Aldridge was raised in Christchurch, Dorset, where his father, Steve, coached at the local rowing club; watching sessions from the river-bank inspired him to join Christchurch Rowing Club.[2]
After secondary school he studied sport and exercise science at Oxford Brookes University and rowed for the Oxford Brookes University Boat Club, a programme that regularly supplies athletes to the GB senior squad.[3]
Career
Graduating from the GB under-23 system, Aldridge joined Oliver Wilkes, David Ambler and Freddie Davidson in the senior coxless four for 2022. The quartet won gold at the 2022 European Rowing Championships in Munich, Britain’s first men’s four continental title since 2016.[1] Aldridge contracted COVID-19 weeks later and missed the final of the 2022 World Rowing Championships in Račice, yet the crew took the world title.[4]
In 2023, he won the Stewards' Challenge Cup at the Henley Royal Regatta, rowing for the Oxford Brookes University Boat Club.[5] Later that year, he won a World Championship gold medal in the men's coxless four, at the 2023 World Rowing Championships in Belgrade.[6]
Aldridge made his Olympic debut on 1 August 2024 at Vaires-sur-Marne. After a tactical middle thousand the British four surged to third behind the United States and the Netherlands, earning Britain’s first men’s four Olympic medal since 2016.[7]
