HeroeS oF THe PAST
MikE MCkay
Rowing and then some
Mike McKay, recipient of the 2007 Thomas Keller Medal, the highest honour in the world
of rowing; McKay, who at age 43 claims four olympic and five world Championship
medals, five of them gold; McKay, executive director of www.fitness2live.com, a leading
online-based health service company; McKay, husband and father of four: a giant of an
athlete, a successful businessman, a man who holds family dear.
6
An eighteen-year rowing career, with a first
World Championship gold in 1986 and a last
bronze medal at the 2004 Olympic Games
in Athens, he is probably best known as a
member of the Australian men’s four, the
Oarsome Foursome, which rowed to gold at
the Olympic Games in Barcelona and Atlanta.
However, McKay also won international
medals as part of the men’s eight and silver
in the pair with Drew Ginn at the Worlds.
umpire at four Olympic Regattas, told many
stories about happenings at elite rowing
events worldwide.
Australia’s ”greatest rowing competitor“,
according to Noel Donaldson, coach of
the legendary Oarsome Foursome, McKay
comes across as head-on-shoulders, feet-on-ground. ”Rowing doesn’t define me as a
person. It is just part of who I am,“ he says.
”I grew up around boats.“ His father, a FISA
”Rowing has been part of my life for so long,
it has helped shape me, given me a sense of
identity. Competing in an international arena
certainly boosts your confidence when you’re
a shy person.“ And that is what his mother
described him as - shy. But shyness can be
overcome: ”You do get some sense of self-esteem through accomplishment in sport,“
says Mike.
Despite rowing’s prominence in his life, he
did not live to row: ”I’ve always made an effort
to make sure I did other things. Just rowing
makes you go mad. There are other things in
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Fact Sheet
Name: Mike McKay
Nationality: Australian
Age: 43
Boat classes: M2-, M4-, M4+, M8+
Olympic Games: 2 Gold medals; 1 Silver medal; 1 Bronze medal
World Rowing Championships: 4 Gold medals; 1 Silver medal
© 2007 Getty Images
