Keith Trask

Keith Charles Trask (born 27 November 1960) is a former New Zealand rower who won an Olympic gold medal at the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles.

Keith Trask
Personal information
Birth nameKeith Charles Trask[1]
Born (1960-11-27) 27 November 1960[1]
Hastings, New Zealand
Occupationcarpenter
Height190 cm (6 ft 3 in)[1]
Weight95 kg (209 lb)[1]
Sport
SportRowing
ClubNorth Shore Rowing Club
Medal record
Men's rowing
Representing  New Zealand
Olympic Games
Gold medal – first place 1984 Los Angeles Coxless four
World Championships
Gold medal – first place 1983 Duisburg Coxed four

Early life

Trask was born in 1960 in Hastings, New Zealand.[1] Trask has a twin brother Paul. Their parents are Charles (died 2015) and Maureen Trask.[2] They received their education in Hastings; first at Mayfair School and then at Hastings Intermediate.[2]

Rowing career

Trask was selected to compete at the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow with the coxed four but did not compete due to the Olympics boycott.[3] He believes that he missed out being selected for the New Zealand eight in 1982 despite being "good enough to be there"; the team went on to win gold at the 1982 World Rowing Championships at Rotsee in Switzerland without him.[2] In 1983, he moved from the Hawke's Bay to Auckland so that he could join the North Shore Rowing Club to increase his chances to get picked for a national team.[2]

In 1983 the crew of Conrad Robertson, Greg Johnston, Keith Trask, Les O'Connell, and Brett Hollister (cox) won the coxed four in Duisburg at the World Championships.[4] Along with Les O'Connell, Shane O'Brien and Conrad Robertson he won gold in the coxless four at the 1984 Olympics at Lake Casitas in California.[5] In 1986, Trask teamed with Eric Verdonk for the pairs and became New Zealand national champion.[2]

He later was a rowing coach for the North Shore Rowing Club, and currently coaches at Westlake Boys High School.[3]

Family and later activities

Trask is married to Serena, and they have three children (one son and two daughters) born between 1984 and 1987. They live in Auckland, where Trask works as a carpenter.[2] He became self employed in 1999 when he founded his company, Keith Trask Limited.[6] In 2009, he competed in ocean swimming.[7]

References
  1. Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Keith Trask". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 18 April 2020. Retrieved 27 October 2016.
  2. Singh, Anendra (30 July 2016). "A hard row for golden moment". Hawke's Bay Today. Retrieved 26 October 2016.
  3. "Keith Trask". New Zealand Olympic Committee. Retrieved 27 October 2016.
  4. "(M4+) Men's Coxed Four - Final". International Rowing Federation. Retrieved 27 October 2016.
  5. "(M4-) Men's Four - Final". International Rowing Federation. Retrieved 27 October 2016.
  6. "Keith Trask Limited". NZ companies lists. Archived from the original on 10 May 2017. Retrieved 27 October 2016.
  7. Collins, Michael (17 November 2009). "Trask heads into the water". Stuff.co.nz. Retrieved 27 October 2016.
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