Ken Lester

Ken Lester made history in 1960 when he became the youngest British male Olympian at 13 years 144 days, surpassing the previous record of 14 years, 356 days set by figure skater Rodney Ward in 1956. Lester started rowing at the age of 11 at Wallingford Rowing Club and, weighing just over 40kg, was an ideal choice as a cox. He gained selection for the coxed pairs at the 1960 Roma Olympics, when fellow Wallingford member Jeff Reeves was part of the crew.

Lester was a fourth-generation butcher from the Berkshire town of Wallingford and was given the names “John Alfred” after his grandfather of the same name who lost his life while serving in France during World War II in 1944. In 1970 Lester was in the Wallingford eight that broke the 80-year-old record for rowing the 112 miles on the River Thames from Oxford to London Bridge in 15 hours and 16 minutes. Also in the boat was Lester’s younger brother Richard, a 1976 Olympic silver-medallist. Ken Lester spent his entire rowing career at Wallingford, was club captain three times, and was appointed treasurer in 2010.