Robert Marland took up rowing as a senior in high school and became more involved in the sport as an economics student at Canada’s Trent University. As a member of an eights crew, he won the Ontario University Championships and Canada’s Henley Royal Regatta in 1985 prior to making his first appearance at the World Championships in 1986, where he finished eighth in the coxed pairs alongside Terry Paul and Raymond Collier. He had more success in 1987, finishing fourth in the coxed fours with Paul, Harold Backer, John Houlding , and Brian Saunderson and winning a bronze medal in the same event at the Summer Universiade. This quintet then attended the 1988 Summer Olympics, where they placed ninth, before Marland switched unsuccessfully to single sculls, settling for the “D” final at the 1989 World Championships. He then won silver medals in the eights at the 1990 and 1991 editions alongside Paul, Bruce Robertson, Andy Crosby, Darren Barber, Derek Porter, Michael Rascher, and John Wallace (with Saunderson and Don Telfer respectively as the ninth man). The crew traded Telfer for Michael Forgeron and set an Olympic record in their gold medal victory at the 1992 Summer Games. Marland retired after this and took up a career as a real estate agent, a position in which, as of 2013, he continues to work. He was inducted into the Canadian Olympic Hall of Fame in 1994 and the Mississauga Sports Hall of Fame in 1997.
Canada