John Lecky’s first athletic passion was rugby, but he switched to rowing while studying economics at the University of British Columbia. His only major international tournament was the 1960 Summer Olympics, where he won silver in the coxed eights alongside David Anderson, Donald Arnold, Sohen Biln, Walter D’Hondt, Nelson Kuhn, Archie MacKinnon, Bill McKerlich, and Glen Mervyn. After graduating from UBC he entered Jesus College, Cambridge to study law and was a member of the winning crew at the 1962 and 1964 Oxford Cambridge Boat Races, in addition to winning the Silver Goblets & Nickalls’ Challenge Cup with John R. Kiely in 1964 (he was also runner up in this competition in 1976). He also played two games with the Canadian national rugby squad in 1962, as they toured Britain. He then had a long career in business and sports administration, with his biggest role being Canada’s Chef de Mission for the 1984 Summer Olympics. He was involved in several entrepreneurial ventures until his death in February 2003, at the age of 62, and had also been active in mountain climbing. He has been inducted into the British Columbia (1977) and University of British Columbia (2012) Sports Halls of Fame with his silver medal-winning crew and the John M.S. Lecky Boathouse at the University of British Columbia is named in his honor.
Canada