Flying the flag for 2012 at the River and Rowing Museum

Olympic medal winning rowers David Callender (Helsinki, 1952), Sid Rand (Rome, 1960) and Ian Lawson (Athens, 2004) celebrated with young 2012 rowing hopefuls on Sunday 26th August in a unique 2012 flag-raising event at the River & Rowing Museum as part of the official, national handover celebrations for the 2008 Olympic Games.

The inspirational event saw young oarsmen and women from the Upper Thames and Henley Rowing Clubs row up the river to the Museum jetty on Mill Meadows and deliver the official 2012 Olympic flag to the Mayor of Henley, Councillor Mrs Gill Zakss and the past Olympians.  The raising of the flag marked the moment when the UK became the official host of the 2012 Olympic Games, signified by the Mayor of Beijing handing the Olympic flag to ex-Henley MP and Mayor of London Boris Johnson in Beijing.  The River & Rowing Museum was one of a selected number of venues across the UK chosen to fly the official 2012 Flag.

The photograph shows from left: Ian Lawson of the Leander Club who represented Britain in the 2004 Olympics in Athens and won the Diamond Sculls in the Henley Royal Regatta, 2008; Paul Mainds, Trustee and Chief Executive, River & Rowing Museum; Councillor Mrs Gill Zakss, Mayor of Henley; Sid Rand, who represented Britain in the 1960 Olympics in Rome; David Callender, who represented Britain in the 1952 Olympics in Helsinki; Peter Sutherland, past Olympic coach.

Paul Mainds, Trustee and Chief Executive of the River & Rowing Museum said: “We are honoured to have been chosen to fly the London 2012 flag. This is an amazing opportunity to join in the early celebrations for this once in a lifetime sporting and cultural event in which we look forward to playing a key role over the next four years and beyond.  Let’s hope some of today’s young oarsmen and women are there representing the UK in 2012.”