Josh West

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This article is about the rower. For the Home and Away character, see Josh West (Home and Away).
Josh West
Medal record
Competitor for  Great Britain
Rowing
Olympic Games
Silver 2008 Beijing Eight

Joshua "Josh" West (born 25 March 1977) is a British rower and academic.

Early life

West is Jewish, was born in Santa Fe, New Mexico, United States:[1] his mother is American, and his father is British.[1]

Rowing career

He attended Yale University for his undergraduate degree.[1] At Yale, he learned to row under Freshman Coach Justin Moore and Varsity Coach Dave Vogel. He participated in the 4-mile (6.4 km) Varsity Eights version of the Harvard-Yale Boat Race his senior year (1998) but lost to Harvard. As an undergraduate he was a member of the literary society, St. Anthony Hall.

In 1999, Josh attended Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge for postgraduate study as a Marshall Scholar, and simultaneously earned a spot in the Blue Boat for The Boat Race against Oxford University. Earning a seat in Cambridge's Blue Boat every year until 2002, West and the "Light Blues" defeated the "Dark Blues" twice in those four years (1999 & 2001). In 2000, West lined up against former Yale teammates Alexander Reid and Eirik Lilledahl, who were the stern pair of the victorious Oxford crew. At 6 ft 9.5 in (2.070 m), West is the tallest recorded oarsmen to participate in The Boat Race. He also twice won May Bumps headships with Caius Boat Club.

Building on his Cambridge successes, West eventually became a member of the British National Rowing Team and won two silver medals (2002 & 2003) with the British Four and one bronze medal (2007) with the British Eight at the World Rowing Championships.

West's most recent success came in the Eight rowing for Great Britain at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, China,[2] where the British crew picked up a Silver Medal in a close finish behind the Canadians.[3]

West is currently a faculty member in Earth Sciences at the University of Southern California.[4]

See also

  • List of Jewish rowers

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 "Jewish Athletes Reach for the Gold". Forward.com. Retrieved 9 November 2013. 
  2. ↑ "GB rowing sets sights on Beijing". BBC News. 4 May 2005. Retrieved 9 November 2013. 
  3. ↑ "West and Co. Take Second in Race Loaded with Ivies". Iviesinchina.com. Retrieved 9 November 2013. 
  4. ↑ "West Research Group at USC". Earth.usc.edu. Retrieved 9 November 2013. 
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