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 (age 63)[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

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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

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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

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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

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  1. ^ a b c d e 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. ^ a b c d e f Singh, Anendra (30 July 2016). "A hard row for golden moment". Hawke's Bay Today. Retrieved 26 October 2016.
  3. ^ a b "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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