Sir Matthew Pinsent MBE

summary

In 1992 Matthew graduated in Geography from St Catherine’s College, Oxford, where he was President of the Oxford Rowing Club.  Also in 1992, at the age of only 21, Matthew had his first taste of Olympic success, when in a Coxless Pair with Sir Steve Redgrave, he won Gold at the Barcelona Olympics.  Prior to that Olympic win he and Redgrave had enjoyed an unbeaten international season, and it was already obvious that Matthew was developing to become one of the world’s greatest oarsmen.

biography

Four times Olympic gold medallist Sir Matthew Pinsent is one of Great Britain’s most successful and highest profile athletes of all time.

In 1992 Matthew graduated in Geography from St Catherine’s College, Oxford, where he was President of the Oxford Rowing Club.  Also in 1992, at the age of only 21, Matthew had his first taste of Olympic success, when in a Coxless Pair with Sir Steve Redgrave, he won Gold at the Barcelona Olympics.  Prior to that Olympic win he and Redgrave had enjoyed an unbeaten international season, and it was already obvious that Matthew was developing to become one of the world’s greatest oarsmen.

At the Atlanta Olympics in 1996 the Pinsent/Redgrave duo won another Gold medal and throughout the nineties their outstanding combination also brought them Seven World Championship Gold’s.
Their unbroken run of successes continued through to the Millennium Olympic Games in Sydney when Pinsent, still with Redgrave but now in a Coxless Four with James Cracknell and Tim Foster, again triumphed earning Pinsent his THIRD Olympic Gold Medal.  “THE RACE” in which he did it was voted ‘Britain’s Greatest Sporting Moment’ and the crew secured themselves a very special place in the heart of the nation.

After Sydney, Matthew formed a seemingly invincible Coxless Pair partnership with James Cracknell MBE.  Undefeated throughout 2001, they went on to complete a unique feat in the history of rowing, by winning the Coxless Pair at the World Championships in Lucerne, a mere two hours after winning the Coxed Pairs. In the 2002 World Championships in Seville they defended their Coxless Pairs title, beating an experienced Australian crew and breaking the world record by 4 seconds in the process.

On Saturday 21st August 2004 at the Athens Olympic Games, Matthew Pinsent CBE entered Olympic history by becoming one of only 5 athletes to win 4 consecutive Gold medals.  In one of the classic sporting moments of all time, he led the Great Britain coxless four to victory over the Canadian World Champions by only eight one hundredths of a second.
On 30th November 2004 Matthew announced his retirement from international rowing. He undoubtedly sealed his name amongst the greatest Olympians of all time by winning again in Athens.
Matthew is an outstanding motivational and after dinner speaker.  He was awarded the MBE in 1993, the CBE in 2001 and in the 2005 New Year’s Honours list he was awarded a knighthood.
His autobiography, “A lifetime in a race”, which he wrote himself was published on 2nd September 2004 and whatever the future holds, Matthew will no doubt be at the forefront of any career, whether it be in rowing, sport, business or the media.

Olympic Games
2004   Gold - Athens, Coxless Four
2000   Gold - Sydney, Coxless Four
1996   Gold - Atlanta, Coxless Pair
1992   Gold - Barcelona, Coxless Pair
2000   Flag bearer - Sydney, Team GB

World Championships
2002   Gold – Seville, Coxless Pair
2001   Gold – Lucerne, Coxless Pair
2001   Gold – Lucerne, Coxed Pair
1999   Gold – St Catherine’s, Coxless Four
1998   Gold – Cologne, Coxless Four
1997   Gold – Lac d’Aiguebelette, Coxless Four
1995   Gold – Tampere, Coxless Pair
1994   Gold – Indianapolis, Coxless Pair
1993   Gold – Roudnice, Coxless Pair
1991   Gold – Vienna, Coxless Pair

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Testimonials

“Your speech was hugely funny and motivational.  It was massively inspiring to listen to you talk about the focus and drive required to be the best at what you do.  I have been a financial adviser for 19 years and was one of the founder members of Intrinsic.  In difficult economic times, your messages couldn’t be more poignant and I awake this morning with renewed enthusiasm for my job.”
Intrinsic

“Matthew arrived early and was extremely supportive of the event.  He was an excellent keynote speaker, inspiring and delivered exactly what we were after.  He kindly stayed on afterwards to meet with some of the delegates too.” 
Civica

“Your presentation at our national dealer conference was very charismatic and inspirational.  It worked very well, and delivered everything we had hoped for. Your messages of individual commitment, drive and absolute focus – as well as that of complete teamship and trust – were exactly in line with the business messages we set out to convey.”
Honda

“I attended the Civica conference last week, at a time when my team is going through major changes and it would be fair to say we’ve been on a bit of a downer for some time.  I just wanted to say thank you very much for your talk - it shook me out of my doldrums and this week, I’ve tried to convey at least some of your messages to the rest of the team.  We’re now digging deep to find our own 1% !!”
Civica

“Many of our partners have commented that Matthew’s presentation was the best of its kind that they have heard.  I think everybody took away very relevant lessons and did so largely because he put it across so well and so graphically.  He was a major reason for the success of the Conference and while I’m sure he won’t need any references in the future we would be delighted to give one.”
DLA Piper

“Matthew was the highlight of the day! He is a very accomplished speaker and did a brilliant job of chatting with all the people on his table and the many that wanted photographs/autographs. He was really welcoming and flexible and we couldn’t have asked for more”.
Royal Mail

“Judging by the standing ovation Matthew received and the number of people that sought his autograph, everyone clearly enjoyed his speech.  It was very trusting of him to pass his gold medals around and was a privilege to spend the evening with him”.
The Chartered Institute of Taxation

“Sir Matthew gave a great performance. He is a very interesting and modest man. Everyone present thoroughly enjoyed his talk. He very kindly mixed with guests after the conference and willingly participated in a number of photos”.
Ulster Bank

“We wish to thank Matthew for taking the time to travel to Jersey despite his busy schedule.  The passion and enthusiasm shown as well as the natural link it had with our conference theme and messaging has made a huge impact on the success of our conference this year”.
Ethicon Endo-Surgery, Johnson & Johnson

“Just a few lines to say how sensational last Friday with Sir Matthew was.  The impact on pupils, staff, and the handful of parents who were there at the school visit was massive. Our evening event was simply sensational with a massive wow factor. Matthew was his usual brilliant self. We set out with the aim of hosting an event that guests will remember for a long time. It was so good they will probably remember it for the rest of their lives”.
Whitehouse Construction

“It went fabulously, Matthew was a dream to work with, with a lovely story, excellent manner, great use of humour, he stayed behind afterwards too – bless him!”
Bristol-Myers Squibb

“Matthew’s speech went extremely well and everyone thoroughly enjoyed it.  Both the delegates and the organisers we able to relate to the skills he talked about”.
ICI

“The conference in Palma was great. Matthew was brilliant and very inspirational. It’s exactly what we needed.”
EMAP

“Matthew’s speech was excellent and extremely motivational. He commanded the stage and captivated the audience. I would like to use him for every conference”.
IBM

“On behalf of the Management Team at SCA, I would like to thank you for attending our annual conference. Your excellent presentation was most appropriate for our theme of Delivering Excellence. You told us most clearly, the many aspects to doing just that when you achieved your goals. Our delegates are still talking about your presentation”.
SCA UK

“Our thanks for your professional and inspirational contribution to our conference, the combination of your team and individual achievements was entirely appropriate and hit all the right notes”. 
Alliance & Leicester

“Matthew was excellent, he really helped get across the team spirit to achieve success which the client was very happy about. He chatted and spent a great deal of time with the guests. I would certainly recommend him to anyone”.
Royal Bank of Scotland

“All our senior Chief Executives had great things to say about Matthew, he was a fantastic speaker”.
NatWest

“Thank you so much for speaking at our annual conference, it was a privilege to hear you speak. The delegates were inspired and captured listening to you. You deserved the standing ovation, congratulations.”
Consignia

“A big ‘Thank you’ to Matthew for yesterday, it was great to meet him. The whole day went well and Matthew’s talk was fantastic!  I hope he enjoyed himself too and I hope I have the opportunity to work with him again soon.”
Procter & Gamble

“Many thanks for attending our Business Excellence Awards, you proved to be an extremely popular guest speaker”.
Cambridge Newspapers

“Manpower was delighted to have Matthew present at the CIPD conference last year. He helped to attract a great deal of attention to our stand and went out of his way to talk to both prospective and existing clients thereby giving a good impression on behalf of Manpower.  We would like to thank Matthew for his support and professionalism on the day.”
ManPower

“Thank you so much for speaking at our UK Resources Executive conference, it was just fantastic.  I knew the audience well and have never seen them so enthused and focused for such a long time!”
Accenture

“Your support and presentation at the event was magnificent and really assisted in making the inaugural conference a great success and one that we will most certainly be developing on an annual basis”
Professional Cricketers’ Association

“You managed, quite effortlessly it appeared, to simultaneously entertain, inform and above all inspire, an achievement many would consider as much a challenge as 4 times winning Olympic Gold”
The Boston Consulting Group

“The unassuming manner in which you put across your amazing achievements and the way in which you allowed us all to handle your Olympic medals left delegates still talking about the event.  You are certainly an inspiration to all of us.”
Associated Independent Stores Limited

“You were a real success with the delegates, many of them really inspired by all your achievements.  Lots of those attending were totally ‘wowed’ by being able to touch your medals.  The feedback shows that there is an obvious motivation to approach things differently as a result of attendance.”
Scottish Enterprise

“Thank you on behalf of MGPA for joining us in Athens and sharing your Olympic experiences with us.  The feedback on your presentation has been universally positive and everyone felt it was a real privilege to have you with us for the day, particularly given your close connection with Athens through the Olympics.  I think the thoughts you shared with us on teamwork and motivation struck quite a few chords and will serve as an inspiration to many of us as we seek to build our business.”
Macquarie Global Property Advisors