PURCELL-GILPIN Peter

Date of Birth: 4 Jul 1994

Age: 27

Gender: Male

Olympic Scholarship

Height (m/ft): 1.93/6'3''

Place of birth: HARARE

Birth Country:

Zimbabwe

Place of residence : GREAT BRITAIN

Events and Medals
Records
Schedule
Bio
General Interest
Milestones

Events and Medals

Discipline	Event	Rank	Medal
Rowing	Men's Single Sculls	20

Schedule

Start Time	Location	Event	Status
	Sea Forest Waterway	Men's Single Sculls Heat 3 #3	Finished
	Sea Forest Waterway	Men's Single Sculls Repechage 3 #28	Finished
	Sea Forest Waterway	Men's Single Sculls Quarterfinal 2 #68	Finished
	Sea Forest Waterway	Men's Single Sculls Semifinal C/D 2 #78	Finished
	Sea Forest Waterway	Men's Single Sculls Final D #122	Finished

Biographical Information

Highlights

World Championships

Year	Location	1x	2x
2019	Linz, AUT	-	28
2018	Plovdiv, BUL	-	20
2015	Aiguebelette-le-Lac, FRA	31	-

African Championships

Year	Location	1x
2019	Tunis, TUN	3

Rank	Event	Year	Location	Result
11	Double Sculls	2019	Plovdiv, BUL	6:38.82
16	Single Sculls	2021	Lucerne, SUI	7:53.43
19	Double Sculls	2019	Rotterdam, NED	7:00.90

World Championships Under 23

Year	Location	1x
2016	Rotterdam, NED	18

Legend
DNF - Did Not Finish, DNS - Did Not Start, EXC - Excluded

PPG ["Because my full name is way too long."] (Athlete, 25 Jul 2021)

Cycling, paddle boarding, painting. (Athlete, 25 Jul 2021)

Occupation:

Artist, Athlete

Earth Sciences, Geography, Geology - University of Birmingham, Great Britain

Wife Micheen Thornycroft

Languages spoken:

Molesey Boat Club [Great Britain]

James Stephenson [personal]; Karl Reid [personal]

Sporting relatives:

His wife Micheen Thornycroft has represented Zimbabwe in rowing, and competed in single sculls at the 2012 Olympic Games in London and 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro. His great grandfather was a horse trainer who trained the famous Irish racehorse Pretty Polly. (Facebook profile, 01 Aug 2020; Instagram profile, 28 Dec 2019; SportsDeskOnline, 05 Feb 2020; Athlete, 25 Jul 2021)

In 2018 he underwent hip surgery, which took almost a full year to recover. (Athlete, 25 Jul 2021)

In 2013 he underwent shoulder reconstruction surgery after being hit by a truck while cycling, which took six months to fully recover. (Athlete, 25 Jul 2021)

He took up rowing in 2006 at age 12 in Zimbabwe. (Athlete, 25 Jul 2021)

"It looked like a cool sport to do." (Athlete, 25 Jul 2021)

To compete at the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo. (Instagram profile, 01 Aug 2020)

Qualifying for the 2020 Olympic Games. (Athlete, 25 Jul 2021)

His wife. (Athlete, 25 Jul 2021)

His wife. (Athlete, 25 Jul 2021)

"I have a small prayer that I say before the start of each race, it's the same prayer that I have said since my first international race in 2011." (Athlete, 25 Jul 2021)

Philosophy:

"Strive to be the best version of yourself in all things, not just the fastest athlete. Focus on doing the small things well and the best with what you have, but most importantly, what ever you do, do it with honour, integrity and a smile." (Athlete, 25 Jul 2021)

In 2013 he was named Junior Sportsperson of the Year and Junior Sportsman of the Year in Zimbabwe. (avironlaval.com, 10 Jan 2014)

General Interest

General
EYES ON TOKYO
He says his experience serving as a reserve for single sculls at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro has helped his preparation for the 2020 Games in Tokyo. He also credits his double sculls campaign in 2019 for helping him secure a qualification berth for Zimbabwe at the 2020 Games, which he achieved following his silver medal in single sculls at the 2019 African Olympic Qualification Regatta in Tunisia. "I have been training for the Olympics since 2013. This past year [speaking in 2019] I have been competing in the men's heavyweight double with Stephen Cox. We attempted to qualify this boat at the 2019 World Championships [in Linz Ottensheim, Austria], and, unfortunately, we were unsuccessful in that endeavour. Although I had been out of the singles for a year, training for the heavyweight double put me in great physical condition. After qualifying the boat for the 2016 Olympic Games, I lost my seat to Andrew Peebles at the final trials. I have learnt a lot from that and training with the fear of failure is not a great way to live, so I would rather focus on what I can control and am excited about the possibilities instead." (theworldnews.net, 24 Oct 2019; The Herald [Zimbabwe], 15 Oct 2019)

ARTIST
He works as a freelance artist and uses the money he earns to help fund his rowing career. "My hope is that my passion for art might assist me in making my sporting ambitions a reality." (LinkedIn profile, 2020; Facebook page, 24 May 2018)

ILLNESS
He was born with a muscular condition, and was unable to compete in sport by age 10 as he could no longer maintain control of his shaking legs. Doctors told him he would likely lose the use of his legs, but soon after a family holiday to Ethiopia his condition began to improve. (stgeorges.co.zw, 15 May 2012)

Social Media

Legend

:: Gold Medal Event
:: Silver Medal Event
:: Bronze Medal Event

Timing and scoring provided by OMEGA. Results powered by Atos