Olympics number six for Tomkins

Rowing Australia has announced that Athens gold medallist James Tomkins will aim to compete in Beijing at his sixth consecutive Olympic Games. Directly after winning Australian crew of the year with pair partner Drew Ginn, Tomkins declared his intention to go for Olympic gold medal number four.

Tomkins is Australia’s most successful rower with seven World Championship titles and three gold and one bronze Olympic medal already to his name.

Rowing Australia says they welcome the announcement and if Tomkins is successful in achieving his goal he will become one of only a handful of Australian Olympians to compete in six consecutive Olympic Games. Tomkins might also become the first ever Australian Olympian to win gold at four different Olympic Games and the first Australian athlete to win five Olympic medals at five consecutive Olympic Games. He would also be one of the oldest Olympic rowers to compete at an Olympic Games. Tomkins will be 43 years old.

Noel Donaldson, Rowing Australia’s High Performance Director, said in a press release; “This is absolutely wonderful news for Rowing in Australia. At a personal level it will be a wonderful challenge for James as he knows and understands the level that will be required in Beijing and it will be an outstanding effort for him to continue to achieve new ground as a senior athlete.?

Donaldson coached Tomkins through the 1990s when Tomkins was part of the “Oarsome Foursome” – the men’s four that won gold at both the 1992 and 1996 Olympics. The crew became household names throughout Australia at the time.

Tomkins currently lives and trains in Melbourne with pair partner Ginn and his continued involvement in rowing comes with a sponsorship deal with Australian clothes manufacturer Bonds for both himself and Ginn.

The duo plan to compete domestically for the coming season while dabbling in sports outside of rowing. Ginn is to race shortly in an ironman triathlon while Tomkins continues to do weights and regularly cycles and surfs.

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