Pete Reed

Pete was introduced to rowing very late on, having been spotted using a rowing machine in the gym whilst studying for an Engineering degree at Bristol UWE. By the end of his degree he had trialed for the National squad and represented Great Britain at the under 23 World Championships.

Following his 2:1 at UWE, Pete was accepted on a 2 year MSc of Research degree at Oxford University in 2004 and his extraordinary progress as an elite rower continued when he earned an Oxford blue in the 150th University Boat Race. He also represented Great Britain in the senior men’s pair at the World Championships in Poland, but unfortunately after such a great year narrowly missed out on Olympic selection for Athens.

In 2005 Pete again represented Oxford, winning the Boat Race comfortably.  He then stormed into contention for Great Britain’s top men’s boat by recording the fastest British time ever to win the GB National Trials, only 3 years after taking up the sport! Following trials Pete was selected into the men’s lead boat; a Coxless Four with Alex Partridge, Andrew Triggs-Hodge and Steve Williams.  They were unbeaten in 2005

In April 2006, Pete again won the National Trials to assert his position in the men’s four. He defended his World Championship title at Dorney Lake, Windsor in August 2006 to become double World Champion. The Four went on to complete an incredible run of 27 races unbeaten, which came to a disappointing end at the 2007 World Championships in Munich.

The disappointment was short lived when in August 2008 Pete achieved his ultimate goal of winning an Olympic Gold medal when the coxless four showed incredible character and rowed through Australia in the final 300m to win one of the most memorable races in Olympic history.

After Beijing Pete took on a new challenge in the Men’s Pair, alongside rowing partner Andy Triggs-Hodge. They secured Silver medals in the 2009, 2010, and 2011 World Championships behind their biggest rivals the New Zealand pair.

At the beginning of 2012, having won  the GB trials for his 7th consecutive year, Pete moved back in to Coxless Four to form the strongest GB boat ahead of London 2012 Olympics. This proved to be a very shrewd move by GB rowing, as the four immediately won Golds at World Cup regattas in Belgrade and Lucerne. However, heading into London 2012, a strong outfit from Australia also showed great speed, making victory at the Games far from a certainty. Pete and the rest of the four were not to be denied, dominating the Olympic final to win the Gold. Great Britain led from the start and continued to do so throughout the race to win by quarter of a length, making Pete a Double Olympic Champion.

Pete is a Lieutenant in the Royal Navy and a fantastic ambassador for the service.  In his spare time he enjoys photography, mountain hiking, cycling, and is a talented musician.