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australian rowers profiles and history

Noel W Donaldson ASM

Mercantile Rowing Club (VIC)

Noel enjoys a most successful coaching career. He has held head coaching roles for the Australian men’s team and the Victorian Institute of Sport, Rowing Australia and the National Centre for Rowing Excellence. He then moved to New Zealand to be the New Zealand lead men’s sweep coach. In 2019, he returned to Australia to once again be the VIS Head rowing coach and subsequently Rowing Victoria head coach.

It is his quality of work and his concern of the well being of the athlete that are the hallmarks of his coaching.

Noel was a school teacher and he honed his coaching skills in school sport and specifically with school rowing. 

School hours enabled him to branch out into club coaching and he soon demonstrated his talent identification and talent development skills. These skills led to his great work in the formation and development of the "Oarsome Foursome", a crew which enjoyed great success on the world stage for a decade.

Since 1990, much success at the Australia national level can be directly attributed to his fine work as a club, state and national coach, developing many athletes in the Australian team.

His elite coaching profile was further enhanced by successfully coaching another iconic crew, the New Zealand men's pair of Eric Murray and Hamish Bond. Therefore Noel has coached probably the two most notable rowing crews in the world in recent times, and without doubt, the two most notable crews from the southern hemisphere.

Even after his years coaching at the top level, Noel continues to develop young talented athletes and his advice continues to be sought by those currently running the elite program.

1992 Olympic Champion Four with coach Noel Donaldson

Rowing details:

1973 - APS Head of the River, Carey Grammar School first crew, cox - Fifth|
1975 - APS Head of the River, Carey Grammar fifth crew, coach - Second
1977 - APS Head of the River, Carey Grammar fourth crew, coach - Sixth
1979 – World Championships – Men’s Eight cox – Fourth
1979 – Interstate Men’s Eight Championship cox – First
1980 - APS Head of the River, Carey Grammar fifth crew, coach - First
1980 - Trans Tasman Series, Men's Lightweight Four, coach
1981 - APS Head of the River, Carey Grammar first crew, coach - Seventh
1982 - APS Head of the River, Carey Grammar first crew, coach - Second
1983 - APS Head of the River, Carey Grammar first crew, coach - Seventh
1985 - APS Head of the River, Brighton Grammar first crew, coach - Fifth
1986 - APS Head of the River, Brighton Grammar fourth Eight, coach - Second
1987 - APS Head of the River, Brighton Grammar first crew, coach - Third
1988 - APS Head of the River, Brighton Grammar, first crew, coach - Third
1989 - APS Head of the River, Brighton Grammar first crew, coach - Fourth
1990 - APS Head of the River, Brighton Grammar first crew, coach - Third
1990 – World Championships – Men’s Coxless Four coach – Gold
1990 – Interstate Men’s Eight Championship co-coach – First
1991 - APS Head of the River, Brighton Grammar first crew, coach - Third
1991 – World Championships – Men’s Coxless Four coach – Gold
1991 – Interstate Men’s Eight Championship coach – First
1992 - APS Head of the River, Brighton Grammar first crew coach -Third
1992 – Olympic Games – Men’s Coxless Four coach – Gold
1992 – Interstate Men’s Eight Championship coach – First
1992 - Coach of the Year, Australian Coaching Council and the Confederation of Australian Sport
1993 - APS Head of the River, Brighton Grammar first crew coach - Fourth
1993 – World Championships – Men’s Eight coach – Fourth
1993-2004 - Victorian Institute of Sport, head coach rowing
1994 – Trans Tasman Under 23 – Men’s Eight coach
1994 – Nations Cup – Men’s Eight coach – Fourth
1994 – Interstate Men’s Eight Championship coach – First
1995 – World Championships – Men’s Coxless Four coach – Fifth
1995 – Interstate Men’s Eight Championship coach – First
1995 – Interstate Women’s Four Championship coach – First
1996 – Olympic Games – Men’s Coxless Four coach – Gold
1996 – Interstate Men’s Eight Championship coach – First
1996 - Coach of the Year, Victorian Coaching Centre
1997 – Nations Cup – Men’s Eight coach – Fourth
1997 – Interstate Men’s Eight Championship coach – Third
1998 – Interstate Men’s Eight Championship co-coach – First
1998 – Interstate Women’s Sculling Championship coach – First
1998 – World Championships – Men’s Coxed Pair coach – Gold
1998 – World Championships – Men’s Coxless Pair coach – Silver
1998 – World Championships – Men’s Coxed Four coach – Gold
1998 – World Championships – Women’s Scull coach – Eighth
1998 – Interstate Women’s Four Championship co-coach – First
1998 - Coach of the Year, Victorian Coaching Centre
1999 – Interstate Women’s Sculling Championship coach – Second
1999 – World Championships – Men’s Coxless Pair coach – Gold
1999 – World Championships – Women’s Scull coach – Seventh
1999 – World Championships – Men’s Coxed Pair coach – Fourth
1999 – Interstate Men’s Eight Championship co-coach – Second
1999 - General Member, Sport Australia Hall of Fame, for contribution to the sport of rowing
2000 - Australian Sports Medal
2000 – Olympic Games – Men’s Coxless Pair coach – Bronze
2000 – Olympic Games – Women’s Single Scull coach – Fifth
2000 – Interstate Men’s Eight Championship co-coach – First
2000 – Interstate Women’s Sculling Championship coach – First
2001 – World Championships – Head Men’s Coach and Head Coach VIS
2002 – World Championships – Head Men’s Coach and Head Coach VIS
2003 – World Championships – Head Men’s Coach and Head Coach VIS
2003 – Under 23 World Regatta – Men’s Single Scull co-coach – Gold
2003 – Under 23 World Regatta – Men’s Lightweight Single Scull co-coach – Silver
2004 – Interstate Men’s Youth Eight Championship co-coach – Second
2004 – Olympic Games – Head Men’s Coach – Most successful men’s team at the Olympic Regatta
2004-2008 – High Performance Director of Rowing Australia.
2008-2012 - Head Men’s Coach National Rowing Centre of Excellence
2008 - Olympic Games, Rowing Section Leader
2009 – World Championships – Men’s Eight coach – Seventh
2010 – World Championships – Men’s Eight coach – Bronze
2010 – World Championships – Men’s Coxed Pair coach – Gold
2010 - Rowing Australia, Coach of the Year
2010 – Inducted into the Victorian Rowing Hall of Fame
2011 – World Championships – Men’s Eight coach – Fourth
2011 – World Championships – Men’s Coxed Pair coach – Silver
2012 – Olympic Games – Men’s Eight co-coach – Sixth
2013-16 - Rowing New Zealand - Men's Lead Sweep Coach
2013 – World Championships – NZL Men’s Coxless Pair coach - Gold
2013 - World Championships - NZL Men's Coxless Four coach - Thirteenth
2014 – World Championships – NZL Men’s Coxless Pair coach - Gold
2014 – World Championships – NZL Men’s Coxed Pair coach - Gold
2015 – World Championships – NZL Men’s Coxless Pair coach - Gold
2015 – World Championships – NZL Men’s Eight coach - Fourth
2016 - Olympic Games - NZL Men's Coxless Pair coach - Gold
2016 - Olympic Games - NZL Men's Eight coach - Sixth
2017-19 - Rowing New Zealand - Men's Head Coach
2017 - World Championships - NZL Men's Coxless Pair coach - Bronze
2017 - World Championships - NZL Men's Single Scull coach - Fifth
2018 - World Championships - NZL Men's Coxless Pair coach - Fifth
2018 - World Championships - NZL Men's Single Scull coach - Fifth
2019-2021 - Victorian Institute of Sport Rowing Head Coach
2020 - Rowing Australia life member
2020-current - Rowing Victoria - Head Coach and Chairman of Selectors

1996 Olympic Champion Four with coach Noel Donaldson

Andrew Guerin 2015 (updated 2022)

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