Acer Nethercott began rowing during his first term at University College, Oxford but soon decided that his small stature made him a more obvious choice to be a coxswain rather than a rower.
His first notable success came in 2000 when he steered the Oxford University women’s eight to victory over their Cambridge counterparts in the women’s University Boat Race. After he returned to Oxford in 2001 to study for a doctorate he began to cox the men’s eight and in 2005 added a victory in the men’s race to his earlier victory. Later that year he began working with the British national team as coxswain to the men’s eight. He guided the crew to a bronze medal at the 2007 World Rowing Championships in Munich before going one position better at the Beijing Olympics when his crew narrowly edged out the USA for the silver medal spot.
Nethercott intended to return to the national team in 2010 after taking a year out from competition but he was diagnosed with an aggressive form of brain cancer. He recovered well enough to contend for a place at the 2012 Olympics but the disease returned soon afterwards and claimed his life in early 2013.
Great Britain