Simon Dickie facts for kids
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| Birth name | Simon Charles Dickie | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | 31 March 1951 Waverley, Taranaki, New Zealand |
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| Died | 13 December 2017 (aged 66) Taupō, New Zealand |
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| Education | Wanganui Collegiate School | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 172 cm (5 ft 8 in) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 54 kg (119 lb) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | Rowing | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Club | Wellington Rowing Club | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Medal record
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Simon Charles Dickie (born March 31, 1951 – died December 13, 2017) was an amazing New Zealand rower. He was a cox (the person who steers the boat and tells the rowers what to do). Simon won three medals at the Olympic Games, including two gold medals!
Simon was born in 1951 in a town called Waverley in Taranaki, New Zealand. He went to Wanganui Collegiate School. While he was there, his rowing teams won the Maadi Cup (a big rowing competition for schools) three times, from 1966 to 1968.
Contents
Simon's First Olympic Gold (1968)
For the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico, New Zealand had a main rowing team and a group of reserve rowers. Simon was the cox for this reserve group. They trained hard in Christchurch.
The reserve rowers felt they were good enough to win a medal. They wanted to compete as a "coxed four" team. This is a boat with four rowers and one cox. After some discussions, the coaches agreed.
Simon's team for the coxed four included Dick Joyce, Dudley Storey, Ross Collinge, and Warren Cole. They worked together perfectly. They won the gold medal in the coxed four event! This was New Zealand's very first Olympic gold medal in rowing. Simon was only 17 years old at the time. He joined the team after a change in the team's coxswain.
More Olympic Success (1972 & 1976)
Simon continued his rowing journey. In 1971, he was the cox for a New Zealand "eight" team. An eight is a boat with eight rowers and one cox. This team included many talented rowers like Dick Joyce, Tony Hurt, and Gary Robertson. They won a gold medal at the 1971 European Rowing Championships.
This same New Zealand eight team went to the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich. They were incredible! They won another gold medal in the men's eight event.
At the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal, Simon was again the cox for the New Zealand eight. This time, his team won a bronze medal. This meant Simon had won medals at three different Olympic Games!
Simon Dickie is one of only fifteen New Zealanders to have won two or more Olympic gold medals. After his rowing career, he owned an adventure company in Taupō.
Simon's Passing
Simon Dickie passed away at his home in Taupō on December 13, 2017. He was 66 years old. Just the day before, he had a reunion with his 1968 coxed four teammates. He was also helping to plan a reunion for the 1972 coxed eight team.
See also
In Spanish: Simon Dickie para niños
