James Rook (rowing)

Rook was educated at Scotch College, Melbourne where he took up rowing. His senior coxing was from Mercantile Rowing Club.

He was first selected to represent Victoria in the men's youth eight who contested the Noel F Wilkinson Trophy in the Interstate Regatta within the 2016 Australian Rowing Championships.{{Cite web |url=http://www.rowinghistory-aus.info/interstate-championships/2016.php#MYth |title=2016 Australian Championships |website=rowinghistory-aus.info |access-date=31 May 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180617043350/http://www.rowinghistory-aus.info/interstate-championships/2016.php#MYth |archive-date=17 June 2018 |url-status=dead}} In 2017, 2018, 2019 and 2022 he coxed the Victorian senior men's eight contesting the King's Cup at the Australian Interstate Regatta.{{Cite web |url=http://www.rowinghistory-aus.info/interstate-championships/2017.php#M8 |title=2017 Australian Championships at Guerin Foster |website=rowinghistory-aus.info |access-date=31 May 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180908003843/http://www.rowinghistory-aus.info/interstate-championships/2017.php#M8 |archive-date=8 September 2018 |url-status=dead}}

{{Cite web |url=https://ra.rowingmanager.com/?regatta;file=12211 |title=2019 Interstate Regatta Results |website=rowingmanager.com |access-date=30 July 2019 |archive-date=15 December 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191215224914/https://ra.rowingmanager.com/?regatta;file=12211 |url-status=dead}} In 2021 he coxed (and co-coached) the Victorian women's eight to a Queen's Cup victory at the Australian Interstate Regatta.{{Cite web |url=https://ra.rowingmanager.com/?regatta;file=15367 |title=2021 Interstate Regatta Results |website=rowingmanager.com |access-date=3 May 2021 |archive-date=3 May 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210503122220/https://ra.rowingmanager.com/?regatta;file=15367 |url-status=dead}}

In 2021 in the stern of a National Training Centre eight, he won the open women's eight title at the Australian Championships.{{Cite web |url=https://www.rowinghistory-aus.info/national-championships/2021 |title=2021 Australian Championships |access-date=16 June 2021 |archive-date=22 June 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210622201105/https://rowinghistory-aus.info/national-championships/2021 |url-status=live }}

Rook was first selected to represent Australia in the senior men's squad of 2017 who raced at the World Rowing Cups II and III in Europe before contesting the 2017 World Rowing Championships in Sarasota USA. At those World Championships, Rook coxed the Australian coxed pair of Angus Widdicombe and Darcy Wruck to a silver medal.[https://worldrowing.com/athlete/james-rook?id=49420 Rook at World Rowing] He also steered the Australian men's senior eight in Sarasota to an overall eighth placing.

In 2017 FISA announced a number of new rule changes, including voting for coxswains to become gender neutral. In 2018 Australian selection processes embraced this new policy resulting in Rook being selected to steer the Australian women's senior eight for the World Rowing Cup II of 2018 and Kendall Brodie of Sydney Rowing Club being selected to cox the Australian men's senior eight.{{Cite web |url=http://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-05-31/rowing-cox-leads-mens-eight-to-history/9820202 |title=Gender Neutral coxing selections |access-date=31 May 2018 |archive-date=31 May 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180531130623/http://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-05-31/rowing-cox-leads-mens-eight-to-history/9820202 |url-status=live }} The women's eight with Rook in the stern started their 2018 international campaign with a bronze medal win at the World Rowing Cup II in Linz, Austria. In their second competitive outing of the 2018 international season in a national selection eight and racing as the Georgina Hope Rinehart National Training Centre, after Rowing Australia patron, Gina Rinehart, Rook steered the 2018 Australian women's eight to a Remenham Challenge Cup victory at the Henley Royal Regatta.{{Cite web |url=https://sirr.rowingaustralia.com.au/australia-wins-big-at-2018-henley-royal-regatta/ |title=2018 Australian Henley victories |website=rowingaustralia.com.au |access-date=10 July 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180711104201/http://sirr.rowingaustralia.com.au/australia-wins-big-at-2018-henley-royal-regatta/ |archive-date=11 July 2018 |url-status=dead}} At the 2018 World Rowing Championships in Plovdiv the Australian women's eight with Rook at cox, won their heat and placed third in the final winning the bronze medal.

In 2019 Rook was again picked in Australian senior sweep squad for the international season. He coxed the Australian women's eight to their gold medal win at Rowing World Cup II in Poznan and to a silver medal at WRC III in Rotterdam. Rook was then selected to cox Australia's women's eight at the 2019 World Rowing Championships in Linz, Austria.{{Cite web |url=http://www.worldrowing.com/assets/pdfs/WCH_2019_1/ROW-------------------------------_C32A.pdf |title=2019 WRC entry list |access-date=23 August 2019 |archive-date=23 August 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190823105705/http://www.worldrowing.com/assets/pdfs/WCH_2019_1/ROW-------------------------------_C32A.pdf |url-status=live }} The eight were looking for a top five finish at the 2019 World Championships to qualify for the Tokyo Olympics.{{Cite web |url=https://rowingaustralia.com.au/2019/08/21/australia-aims-to-qualify-14-boats-for-tokyo-2020/ |title=2019 World Championship selections |website=rowingaustralia.com.au |access-date=26 August 2019 |archive-date=25 March 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220325214015/https://rowingaustralia.com.au/2019/08/21/australia-aims-to-qualify-14-boats-for-tokyo-2020/ |url-status=dead}} They placed second in their heat, came through the repechage and led in the final from the start and at all three 500m marks till they were overrun by New Zealand by 2.7secs. The Australian eight took the silver medal and qualified for Tokyo 2020.

At the Tokyo 2020 Olympics the Australian women's eight were placed third in their heat, fourth in the repechage and fifth in the Olympic A final. Had they managed to maintain their time of 5:57:15 that they achieved in their repechage they would have beaten the winners, Canada, by nearly two seconds and won the gold medal.{{Cite web |url=https://www.theroar.com.au/olympics/australian-olympic-team/ |title=Australian Olympic Team for Tokyo 2021 |website=The Roar |access-date=8 April 2022 |language=en-US |archive-date=15 March 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220315191131/https://www.theroar.com.au/olympics/australian-olympic-team/ |url-status=live }}

{{reflist}}

• {{World Rowing}}
• {{Rowing Australia|james-rook|archive=20240228231402}}
• {{AOC profile|james-rook}}
• {{Olympics.com|james-rook}}
• {{Olympedia}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rook, James}}

Category:1997 births

Category:Australian male rowers

Category:Living people

Category:Australian coxswains (rowing)

Category:World Rowing Championships medalists for Australia

Category:Rowers at the 2020 Summer Olympics

Category:Olympic rowers for Australia

Category:Sportsmen from Victoria (state)

Category:People educated at Scotch College, Melbourne

Category:21st-century Australian sportsmen