| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Full name | Patrick John Sweeney | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | (1952-08-12)12 August 1952 (age 73) London | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 157 cm (5 ft 2 in) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 50 kg (110 lb) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | Rowing | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Club | Leander Club | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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Patrick John Sweeney (born 12 August 1952) is a retiredcoxswain forGreat Britain'srowing team. Sweeney competed at the1972 Summer Olympics,1976 Summer Olympics and the1988 Summer Olympics.
Sweeney won the coxed fours withChristopher Pierce,Hugh Matheson, Dick Findlay andAlan Almand, rowing for aTideway Scullers andLeander composite, at the inaugural1972 National Rowing Championships.[1] The winning crew were then selected to represent Great Britain at the 1972 Olympics,Rooney Massara replaced Findlay in themen's coxed four event where the crew finished in tenth place after being knocked out in the semi-finals.[2]
At the1974 World Rowing Championships he coxed the eight to silver,[3] a feat that was repeated at the 1976 Olympics when Sweeney coxed the eight during the1976 Olympic rowing event. In between he was part of the coxed four at the1975 World Rowing Championships in Nottingham, the four just missed out on a medal finishing in fourth place in the A final.[4]
In 1977 he won his first gold medal at the1977[5][2] and another gold medal was secured during the1986 World Rowing Championships when he coxedSteve Redgrave andAndy Holmes in the coxed pairs. This crew then won an Olympic bronze medal at the 1988 Summer Olympics in themen's coxed pair.[2]
Sweeney is also a rowing coach. He has coached the British National Team at World Championships and Olympics. Also at the Burnaby Lake Aquatic Center inBurnaby,British Columbia, Canada. He has served as head coach and director of training for the Belgian National Rowing team. In addition, he has coached several United States collegiate women's teams and has won four national collegiate titles. Sweeney currently coaches theKansas State University women's team.
