Shane O'Brien (rower)

{{Infobox sportsperson

| name = Shane O'Brien

| image =

| alt =

| caption =

| birth_name = Shane Joseph O'Brien{{cite Sports-Reference |title = Shane O'Brien |url = https://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/athletes/ob/shane-obrien-1.html |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20200418044148/https://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/athletes/ob/shane-obrien-1.html |url-status = dead |archive-date = 18 April 2020 |access-date = 28 October 2016}}

| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1960|9|27|df=y}}

| birth_place = Auckland, New Zealand

| death_date =

| death_place =

| residence =

| education =

| alma_mater =

| occupation =

| years_active =

| spouse =

| height = {{convert|203|cm|ftin|abbr=on}}

| weight = {{convert|96|kg|lb|abbr=on}}

| sport = Rowing

| club = West End Rowing Club

| medaltemplates = {{MedalSport | Men's rowing }}

{{MedalCountry | {{NZL}} }}

}}

Shane Joseph O'Brien (born 27 September 1960) is a former New Zealand rower who won an Olympic gold medal at the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, California, USA.

Early life

O'Brien was born in 1960 in Auckland, New Zealand. He received his secondary school education at Mount Albert Grammar School from 1974 to 1978, where he was prefect and captain of the rowing team.{{cite web |title=Rowing Greats Return to MAGS |url=https://www.mags.school.nz/Story?Action=View&Story_id=6674 |publisher=Mount Albert Grammar School |access-date=9 November 2016}}

Rowing career

Along with Les O'Connell, Conrad Robertson and Keith Trask he won gold in the coxless four at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics. O'Brien also competed at the 1986 Commonwealth Games in Edinburgh, Scotland, winning a silver medal in the coxless four and a bronze medal in the eights.{{cite web |title=Edinburgh 1986 Commonwealth Games |url=https://olympic.org.nz/games/edinburgh-1986 |publisher=New Zealand Olympic Committee |access-date=18 September 2016}} At the 1985 World Rowing Championships at Hazewinkel in Belgium, he came fourth with the coxless four.{{cite web |url=http://www.worldrowing.com/events/1985-world-championships/mens-four/final/ |title=(M4+) Men's Four - Final |access-date=10 November 2016 |publisher=International Rowing Federation}} He is listed as New Zealand Olympian number 482. His three medals were stolen in a burglary in 2006.{{cite news |last1=Kiong |first1=Errol |title=Family pleads for return of Olympic rowing gold |url=http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10388478 |access-date=28 October 2016 |work=The New Zealand Herald |date=26 June 2006}}

Teaching career

O'Brien is a trained teacher. In the late 1980s, he went back to his old school to teach there.{{cite news |last1=Street |first1=Danielle |title=The Olympic dream |url=http://www.stuff.co.nz/auckland/local-news/central-leader/7399817/The-Olympic-dream |access-date=9 November 2016 |work=Auckland Now |date=3 August 2012}} He also taught at an intermediate school in Auckland.{{cite web |title=Shane O'Brien |url=http://olympic.org.nz/athletes/shane-obrien/ |publisher=New Zealand Olympic Committee |access-date=10 November 2016}} He moved to England in the early 1990s where he worked as a teacher and coached rowing at Latymer Upper School, Hammersmith. He worked closely with the Latymer Upper School boatman at the time, Coyne T. Mullen. In 1999, he went on to Shiplake College, on the River Thames south of Henley-on-Thames; he was the deputy headmaster there.{{cite news |title=Deputy off to Dubai |url=http://www.henleystandard.co.uk/news/news.php?id=878487 |access-date=9 November 2016| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161110043936/https://www.henleystandard.co.uk/news/news.php?id=878487 | archive-date=10 November 2016| work=Henley Standard |date=14 February 2011}} One of the Shiplake College rowers who had trained under him, Will Satch, went to win Olympic bronze at the 2012 Summer Olympics (coxless pair) and gold four years later (eight).{{cite news |title=Shiplake College marks rowing milestone in style |url=http://www.henleystandard.co.uk/news/news.php?id=37753 |access-date=9 November 2016 |work=Henley Standard |date=28 October 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161110043959/http://www.henleystandard.co.uk/news/news.php?id=37753 |archive-date=10 November 2016 |df=dmy-all }} Before he left Shiplake College, a new coxless four boat purchased by the school was named for O'Brien. He became headmaster of Jumeirah English Speaking School (Dubai, UAE) in mid-2011, and director in September 2019.{{cite web |url=http://www.jess.sch.ae/arabianranchessec/news/11-08-23/New_Head_of_Secondary_%e2%80%93_Mr_Shane_O_Brien.aspx |title=New Head of Secondary – Mr Shane O’Brien |date=23 August 2011 |publisher=Jumeirah English Speaking School |access-date=5 December 2011 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120406072504/http://www.jess.sch.ae/arabianranchessec/news/11-08-23/New_Head_of_Secondary_%e2%80%93_Mr_Shane_O_Brien.aspx |archive-date=6 April 2012}}