Alan Blair Thompson (born 14 June 1959) is a sprint canoeist who competed in the early to mid-1980s. He competed at three Olympic Games (1980–1988) and won two Olympic gold medals for New Zealand.
| Personal information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Birth name | Alan Blair Thompson | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | 14 June 1959 Gisborne, New Zealand | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 179 cm (5 ft 10 in)[1] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 83 kg (183 lb)[1] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | Canoe sprint | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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Thompson was born in 1959 in Gisborne, New Zealand.[1] He attended Te Hapara Primary School, Gisborne Intermediate and Gisborne Boys' High School.[2] and played rugby union for his high school. He was also selected for the under-18 North Island rugby team.[3]
Thompson attended his first Summer Olympics in 1980 in Moscow and was part of the small New Zealand team of just four athletes that attended that year, as most western athletes stayed away due to the boycott that year.[1] In the K-2 500 metres, Thompson and Geoff Walker were eliminated in the semi-final.[4] In the K-4 1000 metres, Thompson's team did not start.[5]
Thompson competed at six ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships between 1981 and 1987 and won three medals; two silvers (K-1 1000 m and K-2 500 m: both 1982), and a bronze (K-1 1000 m: 1983).[2][6]
He won both of his Olympic gold medals at Los Angeles in 1984, in the K-1 1000 m and K-4 1000 m events.[1][7][8] Thompson is one of the few New Zealanders to have won two or more Olympic gold medals.[3] He went to his third Olympics in 1988 in Seoul, Korea, and came sixth in the K-1 1000 m.[1][9]
After retiring from top-level canoeing Thompson became a coach, selector and manager for New Zealand canoeing teams and eventually became president of the New Zealand Canoeing Federation. He is self-employed in Gisborne.[2]
Thompson is married to Australian Olympic sprint canoeist Elizabeth Blencowe.[10]
References
- "ICF medalists for Olympic and World Championships – Part 1: flatwater (now sprint): 1936–2007" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 5 January 2010. Retrieved 27 April 2019.
- "ICF medalists for Olympic and World Championships – Part 2: rest of flatwater (now sprint) and remaining canoeing disciplines: 1936–2007" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 9 November 2009. Retrieved 27 April 2019.
