Alex Gregory MBE

Rio 2016 Olympiad: 2013 – 2016

After being crowned World Champion in 2013, 2014 and 2015, Alex completed a golden Olympiad at Rio 2016 as he helped GB secure a fifth successive men’s four title.

It was a second-successive Olympic gold in the four for Alex, who this time teamed up with Mohamed Sbihi, George Nash and Constantine Louloudis to power to victory on a fantastic Friday on the Lagoa Rodrigo de Freitas, beating Australia by three-quarters of a length.

It completed an unbeaten season for Alex, which started as he won the GB Rowing Team Trials with Sbihi for a third successive year. The four made a winning debut at the European Championships in Brandenburg, securing gold in choppy conditions, but Louloudis was unable to race at the Lucerne World Cup due to illness.

Callum McBrierty took his place in the boat as the four won a dramatic gold, pipping Australia on the line. Louloudis returned for the Poznan World Cup, where GB maintained their unbeaten record for 2016 by finishing a length clear of World Champions Italy.

Alex had started the Rio Olympiad in the eight, a new challenge after being in the men’s four since 2009.  It proved to be a successful transition, though, as Alex helped secure a historic first-ever World Championship gold for a British eight.

He was back in the four the following year, joining Andrew T Hodge, Sbihi and Nash in a crew that remained unbeaten throughout 2014. After securing a first European Championships title of his career, Alex also won gold at the World Cups in Aiguebelette and Lucerne before producing an outstanding clear-water victory at the World Championships in Amsterdam.

An enthralling 2015 saw Alex return to the eight and, along with his crew-mates, enjoy a season-long battle with Germany. After having to settle for silver at the European Championships, GB won World Cup gold in Varese and Lucerne by fractions of a second. The drama continued at the World Championships in Aiguebelette as GB edged out their rivals by two-tenths of a second to claim gold for a third successive year.

London 2012 Olympiad: 2009 – 2012

When Alex won gold with the men’s four on Super Saturday at London 2012, it completed an impressive turnaround in his rowing fortunes.

In 2009 Alex switched to sweep and promptly won the men’s pair race at the GB Rowing Team Senior Trials.  That earned him a place in a men’s four that won two golds and a bronze on the World Cup circuit before finishing two seconds clear of the field at the World Championships.

Two more World Cup golds and a bronze followed in 2010 but there was disappointment at the World Championships as, in challenging conditions on New Zealand’s Lake Karapiro, the four finished just outside the medals.

Alex retained his place in the boat for 2011 and helped GB win a brace of World Cup golds before reclaiming the World title in style in Bled.

A new-look four of Alex, Pete Reed, Tom James and Andrew Triggs Hodge came together at the start of 2012 and won back-to-back World Cup golds in Belgrade and Lucerne before narrowly losing to Australia in Munich.  However, they avenged that defeat in style at London 2012 – leading from start to finish to win one of six Team GB gold medals on Super Saturday.  Alex and his crewmates were awarded MBEs in the 2013 New Year’s Honours list.

Alex is dad to newborn Jesse, two-year-old Daisy and six-year-old Jasper, so ‘relaxing’ at home involves heading out into the garden to climb trees, running around like army men or walking the family’s cocker spaniel.

After cleaning up, catching up with correspondence and fitting in a quick TV show – his favourite is Countryfile – Alex says he is asleep before lights out “without fail”.

Before taking up rowing seriously, Alex took part in a British Schools Exploring Society expedition to the Arctic Island of Svalbard – a “weird but wonderful experience” where he spent four weeks studying a remote glacial valley, climbing mountains and exploring the ice cap without once seeing the sun set.

He still loves travelling the world and describes his ideal post-rowing job as either exploring and mountaineering or keeping and studying animals.  David Attenborough and Ernest Shackleton are unsurprisingly two of his dream dinner guests, along with Gareth from The Office.

Alex loves discovering new music, with Monsters of Folk and Kodaline his two latest finds, but is happy to listen to whatever Moe Sbihi and Charles Cousins put on the stereo in training.

Alex is Lottery funded through UK Sport.