An outstanding teenage sculler, Kieran West’s hopes of becoming a world class rower seemed to have ended while he was still a teenager. A serious back injury kept him away from the water from three years and, after being accepted by Cambridge University, he did not row again until his third year of college. Upon reaching full fitness he was quickly drafted into the British national eight and was a part of the crew that finished second at the 1999 World Championships. The following year the crew upped their performance and became Olympic champions in Sydney. Although his only world title was as part of a coxless four in 2002, he was an established member of the eight for the rest of his career. West’s crews were regular finalists at major championships but another medal constantly eluded them. He began to suffer injuries towards the latter part of his career and was so disillusioned with this and the internal politics of the British programme that he walked away from the sport six months before the 2008 Olympics. He studied Economics and Mathematics at Cambridge and later taught the subjects at a private school before returning to Cambridge for post graduate studies in Military History. West rowed in the Oxford-Cambridge Boat Race on four occasions and lost only once.
Great Britain