John James

John James first took up rowing when he was four years old, with him going on to represent Great Britain, followed by a lengthy career in Australia. James learnt to row as a schoolboy with him becoming a member of the rowing team when he attended the London School of Economics (LSE) in the early 1960s. Whilst at the LSE he was part of the London University eight crew that won the Thames Cup at Henley Royal Regatta in 1961, and competed in the European Championships in Praha in the coxed fours. In 1964 he was working in an accountancy firm in London when he was selected to represent Great Britain at the Roma Olympics in the coxless fours. The crew of James John M. Russell, Hugh Wardell-Yerburgh, and Bill Barry won their heat to advance directly to the final where they won silver, finishing just over a second behind the Danish team.

In 1969 James emigrated to Australia where he later joined the North Shore Rowing Club in Sydney. He represented the club for several decades including competing in the 1997 World Masters in Adelaide. He was still competing at the World Masters in 2024 where he won gold. James served in multiple administration roles at various rowing boards including Rowing Australia and Rowing New South Wales. In 2021 James was honoured with the Medal of the Order of Australia for services to rowing.