Hugh Matheson (rower)

Hugh Patrick Matheson (born 16 April 1949) at Ormiston near Hawick, Scotland is a British rower who competed in the 1972 Summer Olympics, in the 1976 Summer Olympics, and in the 1980 Summer Olympics.

In 1972 Olympic Games in Munich he was a crew member of the British boat which finished tenth in the coxed fours event.^[1]

In 1974 he was a member of the British eight which won the silver medal at the Lucerne World Championships.

At the 1976 Montreal Olympic Games he won the silver medal with the British boat in the eights competition.

Matheson competed for Nottingham Boat Club and switched to the single scull. In 1978 he was runner-up to Tim Crooks in the Diamond Challenge Sculls at Henley Royal Regatta. He won the Diamond Challenge Sculls in 1979.^[2] At the 1980 Moscow Games he finished sixth in the single sculls contest.

After retirement from competition he coached the Nottinghamshire County Rowing Association which had twenty five years of success at World level including lightweight men's World Champion crews and elite success all over Europe. In 1986 he became the rowing correspondent of the Independent newspaper in London and ten years later took over as rowing commentator on British Eurosport and for FISA, the International Rowing Federation. He retired from both in 2007.

He was High Sheriff of Nottinghamshire in 1997 and was made a Deputy Lieutenant of Nottinghamshire in 2004.

As owner of the Thoresby Estate in Nottinghamshire he has managed the farming and forestry enterprises since 1975 and has served as a trustee on the Sports Aid Foundation (1981–1990) The National Trust (2000–2010) and Portland College, a specialist FE college for the disabled, (chairman of Governors 2008–2014)

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