Zimbabwean rower
Peter Purcell-Gilpin (born 4 July 1994) is a Zimbabwean rower who competed at the 2020 Summer Olympics.
Early years
Purcell-Gilpin was born into a family of farmers in Zimbabwe.[4] He suffered from a muscular condition that left him unable to play sports by the age of 10 because he couldn't control his shaking legs.[2] He was told by doctors that he would likely lose his ability to use them, but his condition soon began to improve.[2]
Purcell-Gilpin started rowing in 2007,[2] and served as captain of the rowing club during his time at St. George's College in Harare.[5] He competed at the 2012 World Rowing Junior Championships held in Bulgaria, where he finished 16th out of 33 competitors in the single sculls event,[6] and was subsequently named the 2013 Junior Sportsperson of the Year.[2]
Career
Purcell-Gilpin competed at the collegiate level while attending the University of Birmingham in England.[7] Together with his partner William White, they became the first pair from the school to ever medal at a British Universities and Colleges Sport (BUCS) event when they won a silver at the 2017 BUCS Regatta.[8] They also won a gold medal in the men’s double scull event at the 2017 European Universities Rowing Championships held in Serbia.[7]
Purcell-Gilpin debuted at the senior international level in 2013.[9] He competed at his first World Championships in 2015, placing 31st overall in the single sculls.[9] With a fourth-place finish at the 2015 African Olympic Qualification Regatta in the men’s single sculls, Purcell-Gilpin qualified Zimbabwe to be represented in this boat class at the 2016 Summer Olympics.[10] However, he lost his seat to Andrew Peebles during the national selection trials and instead served as an alternate while Peebles competed in the Rio Games.[11]
In 2019, Purcell-Gilpin placed second in the single sculls event at the African Olympic Qualification Regatta in Tunisia to secure Zimbabwe's spot at the 2020 Summer Olympics.[12] A few days later he won a bronze medal at the African Championships, also held in Tunisia.[2][11] The national selection trials, originally scheduled for April 2020, were cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[1] While in quarantine, he placed second at the inaugural African Indoor Championships in the men's open 2000m race and was able to qualify for the inaugural World Virtual Indoor Championships.[13] In June 2021, Purcell-Gilpin was finally confirmed by the Zimbabwe Olympic Committee as one of the five athletes selected to the delayed Tokyo Olympics – their smallest team in history.[1][14] He shared flagbearer duties with 17-year-old swimmer Donata Katai.[15]
Personal life
Purcell-Gilpin earned his BSc in geology and physical geography from the University of Birmingham and is currently studying towards his PhD at the same institution.[16] He works as a freelance artist to fund his rowing career,[2] and raised over $7,000 on GoFundMe to cover his training costs ahead of the 2020 Olympics.[17]
Purcell-Gilpin married two-time Olympic rower Micheen Thornycroft in 2019 after years of serving as training partners.[18]
See also
References
External links
