Alistair Potts

Alistair Potts (born July 7, 1971 in Chertsey, Surrey) is a British World Champion cox.

Educated at Winchester College, University of Edinburgh (studying architectural history) Potts coxed the men's four, men's lightweight eight and women's eight at the 1994 Commonwealth Regatta representing Scotland. After going up to Trinity Hall, Cambridge University at the end of 1994, he was winning coxswain in the record-breaking CUWBC crew at the 1995 Women's Boat Race. This was quickly followed by coxing Trinity Hall BC to the headship in the May Bumps. In 1996 Potts recorded a record-breaking win in the Goldie-Isis reserve race and won the Ladies' Challenge Plate at Henley Royal Regatta with CUBC (rowing as Goldie Boat Club). In 1998 he steered the record-breaking Cambridge Blue Boat in the Boat Race. Speaking in the post race interview, Alistair generously attributed much of the crew's success to their powerful 3rd man, Jon Bull. "Without Jon's unique character to bind the crew together I doubt we would have achieved all we have today."

Potts won a silver medal at the 1999 World Championships at St. Catharines, Canada in the coxed four with Jonny Searle, Jonny Singfield, Rick Dunn and Graham Smith. Gold came in 2000 at Zagreb in the same boat class with Dunn, Smith and Toby Garbett and Steve Williams. This was the first time Great Britain had won the coxed four at the World Rowing Championships since its inception. That same crew also won the Prince Philip Challenge Cup at Henley.

Potts' rowing career finished in 2000 coinciding with the completion of his doctoral thesis on "The Development of the Seventeenth Century Playhouse". Potts is now a writer and broadcaster, and had a brief acting part in the Australian soap opera Neighbours in 2004. [http://perfectblend.net/neighbourhood/bio/potts-alistair.htm] [http://www.tv.com/neighbours/episode-4476/episode/329349/summary.html] He is also part of the family that owns and runs [http://www.partyark.co.uk/ Party Ark] , an internet-based children's party supplies business.

Achievements

*World Rowing Championships Medals: 1 Gold, 1 Silver (Great Britain)
*Henley Royal Regatta Medals: 2 Gold (Goldie BC and Leander Club)
*Blue Boat / Women's Blue Boat Wins: 2 (Cambridge University)

World Championships

*2000 — Gold, Coxed Four (with Steve Williams, Rick Dunn, Toby Garbett, Graham Smith)
*1999 — Silver, Coxed Four (with Jonny Singfield, Jonny Searle, Rick Dunn, Graham Smith)

External links

* [http://www.partyark.co.uk/information/about-us Profile on Party Ark]
* [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sport/68944.stm BBC Interview]
* [http://80.83.47.230/n_bio_rower.fwx?no_id=8806 Profile on FISA]