John Parker

John Parker rowed in college at Princeton, graduating in 1989, and then joined the US national team from 1989-93. Parker rowed at the World Championships in 1989, 1991, and 1993, in addition to his appearance at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics.

Parker then turned to coaching, starting as the freshman coach at the University of Washington from 1993-98. He then coached at Columbia University and at his alma mater. Parker coached the men’s team at the 1998 World Championships and in 2007 was named the US national team’s lightweight coach for both men and women. In 2009 he was named the director and head coach of the Oklahoma City High Performance Center, which is a US Olympic and Paralympic training center for rowing and canoe/kayaking. Parker married the former Hana Dariusová, a Czech Olympic rower.