Pinsent wins FISA's highest honour

First it was a knighthood from Queen Elizabeth II. Then it was FISA's crew of the year for 2004. Now it's the top honour in the world of rowing. FISA's 2005 Thomas Keller medal is to be awarded to Great Britain's Sir Matthew Pinsent.

Pinsent and teammates on the Olympic podium in Athens

Awarded for an "outstanding career in rowing", Pinsent won over a group of rowing heavyweights that included Agostino Abbagnale of Italy, Jean-Christophe Rolland of France, James Tomkins of Australia and André Willms of Germany. 

Pinsent announced his retirement last year after winning his fourth Olympic gold medal but has remained constantly in the limelight in Great Britain. This has been spurred on by the release of his autobiography, "a lifetime in a race", his involvement with London's 2012 Olympic bid, his association with corporate rowing and also his new year's knighthood.

Gold medals featured prominently in Pinsents 17-year international rowing career, beginning with gold as a junior in 1988 and finishing 10 World Championship titles and four Olympic golds later in 2004. Pinsent also went on an unprecedented winning spree from 1991 until 2002 when he never lost a race at the World Rowing Championships or the Olympic Games.

Pinsent & Redgrave

After teaming up with Sir Steve Redgrave in 1990 Pinsent become part of the rowing legend when he partnered Redgrave in a pair to win gold at the 1992 and 1996 Olympic Games. Under the guidance of coach Juergen Grobler, Pinsent and Redgrave were teamed up with Tim Foster and James Cracknell in a four for the Sydney Olympics. Their win gave Pinsent his third Olympic gold and Redgrave's record-breaking fifth.

Pinsent raced again in the four at Athens where he secured his fourth Olympic gold. This put him into the elite category of being only one of five people – in any sport – to win four consecutive Olympic gold medals.

The 18-carat gold Thomas Keller medal will be presented to Pinsent by Dominik Keller, son of the late Thomas Keller, the former president of FISA, on Saturday 28 May 2005. The presentation will take place just after the men's eight race at the BearingPoint Rowing World Cup regatta in Eton, Great Britain (26 to 28 May).

Pinsent will also be appearing at Eton as a rower when he joins his gold medal 2000 Olympic four for a charity re-race – the Legends Sprint – against the five finalists from the famous Sydney men's four race. The sprint will be over 500 metres on finals day, Saturday 28 May and is a fundraiser for the World Food Programme.

The British four on the medal podium in Sydney

The Thomas Keller medal has been established as the highest honour in the sport of rowing and is presented to recognise an exceptional rowing career as well as exemplary sportsmanship. Previous recipients include Nico Rienks (NED), Peter Antonie (AUS), Marnie McBean (CAN) and Pinsent's former partner, Sir Steve Redgrave (GBR).

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Related links
Thomas Keller Medal nominees for 2005 announced
Finalists: Thomas Keller Medal 2005
Keller Medal biographies
Top 10 rowers in 2004
Matthew Pinsent photo gallery