Seán Drea

	Drea with his 1976 Holland Beker trophy at Bosbaan
Personal information
Born	2 March 1947 (age 78); Bagnalstown, Ireland
Height	1.90 m (6 ft 3 in)
Weight	98 kg (216 lb)
Sport
Sport	Rowing
Club	Neptune Rowing Club, Dublin
Medal record
Men's rowing
Representing Ireland
World Rowing Championships
Men's rowing
Representing Ireland
World Rowing Championships
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Seán Joseph Drea (born 3 March 1947^[2]) is a former Olympic rower and world record holder from Ireland, specialising in the single scull. He won the Diamond Challenge Sculls (the premier singles sculls event) three years in a row at the Henley Royal Regatta, where he set the course record, and was the first Irish rower to win a World Championship medal securing silver in the 1975 World Championships.^[1]^[3]

Biography

Drea lives in Greystones,^[4] and is originally from Bagenalstown, County Carlow. He tried many sports before joining Neptune Rowing Club after moving to Dublin to work^[4] in advertising. He later moved to Philadelphia, where he attended St. Joseph's University on a sports scholarship and also rowed for Vesper Boat Club. He lost to Aleksandr Timoshinin in the final of the 1972 Diamond Sculls when the steering fin broke off his boat.^[5] At the 1972 Olympics, he came seventh.^[2]^[6] In 1974, he won the U.S. national championships,^[7] and was the favorite for the World Championships in Rotsee;^[8] however he withdrew for an emergency kidney stone removal.^[6]^[9]^[10] At the 1975 World Championships, he finished second to Peter-Michael Kolbe.^[9] At the 1976 Olympics, he broke the 2000 m world record in the semi-final with a time of 6:52.46.^[2]^[6] However, he finished fourth in the final after a poor third quarter.^[2]^[6]

Drea spent years in Philadelphia as a coach for the US national team,^[11] Fairmount Rowing Association, La Salle University and subsequently the Irish National team. He also rowed in the Head of the River Race in 1997 with a veteran Schuylkill Navy crew.^[12] Today, Drea lives in Greystones, County Wicklow, Ireland and runs an organic farming business.

Sean's son Jack Drea rowed for Oxford Brookes University^[13] and won the Temple Challenge Cup at Henley Royal Regatta in 2006 and competed in the Ladies Challenge Plate in a Oxford Brookes & Oxford University composite in 2007. Jack also represented Ireland in rowing.

Sean’s eldest son David Drea rowed for Trinity College Dublin.

Record

Year	Event	Place	Ref
1970	Henley	QF	^[14]
1970	Worlds	12	^[15]
1972	Henley	2	^[5]
1972	Olympics	7	^[2]
1973	Henley	1	^[16]
1974	Henley	1	^[16]
1975	Henley	1	^[16]
1975	Worlds	2	^[9]
1976	Olympics	4	^[2]

References

^ ^a ^b Sean DREA at World Rowing
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Seán Drea". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 18 April 2020. Retrieved 23 February 2010.
^ "Rudern – Weltmeisterschaften. Einer – Herren" [Rowing – World Championships. One – Men]. Sport-Komplett.de (in German). Archived from the original on 6 January 2015.
^ ^a ^b "Sean Drea calls on Carlow stars to believe". Carlow Nationalist. 11 February 2009. Retrieved 25 February 2010.
^ ^a ^b "Harvard Lightweight Crew and Kent Eight Capture Cups at Henley Regatta; Drea is defeated in Diamond Sculls". New York Times. 2 July 1972. p. S5. Retrieved 25 February 2010.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Watterson, Johnny (14 August 2000). "Olympic Evolution: Number 4 – Rowing". The Irish Times. Retrieved 25 February 2010.
^ "A Roundup Of The Week Aug. 12–18". Sports Illustrated. 26 August 1974. Archived from the original on 4 June 2011.
^ "A Roundup Of The Week Sept. 2–8". Sports Illustrated. 16 September 1975. Archived from the original on 18 July 2012.
^ ^a ^b ^c "...but Not In Nottingham". Sports Illustrated. 8 September 1975. Archived from the original on 18 July 2012.
^ "Surgery for Drea". The Spokesman-Review. Spokane, Washington. 9 September 1974. p. 25. Retrieved 25 February 2010.
^ Silverberg, Lee (19 May 2008). "A Very Brief History of the Fairmount Rowing Association". Fairmount Rowing Association. Retrieved 6 January 2015.
^ Matheson, Hugh (22 March 1997). "Rowing: Redgrave and Pinsent pair up". The Independent. London. Retrieved 25 February 2010.
^ Dodd, Christopher (1 July 2004). "Rowing: Brookes boat beats Dublin as wind takes toll on crews". The Independent. Retrieved 25 February 2010.
^ "Penn, Dartmouth lose their races; English Crews Triumph in Grand Challenge Event Arlett Bows in Sculling". New York Times. 3 July 1970. Retrieved 25 February 2010.
^ "World Rowing". New York Times. 6 September 1970. p. 121 Sports. Retrieved 25 February 2010.
^ ^a ^b ^c Hildes-Heim, Norman (31 August 1975). "East German Oarsmen Capture 5 of 8 World Titles at Regatta". New York Times. p. 168. Retrieved 25 February 2010. ...Diamond sculls at the Henley Royal Regatta in July which Drea won for the third consecutive time

[row-1] Sean DREA at World Rowing

[sref-2] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Seán Drea". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 18 April 2020. Retrieved 23 February 2010.

[3] "Rudern – Weltmeisterschaften. Einer – Herren" [Rowing – World Championships. One – Men]. Sport-Komplett.de (in German). Archived from the original on 6 January 2015.

[cn2009-4] "Sean Drea calls on Carlow stars to believe". Carlow Nationalist. 11 February 2009. Retrieved 25 February 2010.

[nyt72henley-5] "Harvard Lightweight Crew and Kent Eight Capture Cups at Henley Regatta; Drea is defeated in Diamond Sculls". New York Times. 2 July 1972. p. S5. Retrieved 25 February 2010.

[it2000-6] Watterson, Johnny (14 August 2000). "Olympic Evolution: Number 4 – Rowing". The Irish Times. Retrieved 25 February 2010.

[7] "A Roundup Of The Week Aug. 12–18". Sports Illustrated. 26 August 1974. Archived from the original on 4 June 2011.

[8] "A Roundup Of The Week Sept. 2–8". Sports Illustrated. 16 September 1975. Archived from the original on 18 July 2012.

[si1975-9] "...but Not In Nottingham". Sports Illustrated. 8 September 1975. Archived from the original on 18 July 2012.

[10] "Surgery for Drea". The Spokesman-Review. Spokane, Washington. 9 September 1974. p. 25. Retrieved 25 February 2010.

[11] Silverberg, Lee (19 May 2008). "A Very Brief History of the Fairmount Rowing Association". Fairmount Rowing Association. Retrieved 6 January 2015.

[12] Matheson, Hugh (22 March 1997). "Rowing: Redgrave and Pinsent pair up". The Independent. London. Retrieved 25 February 2010.

[ind2004-13] Dodd, Christopher (1 July 2004). "Rowing: Brookes boat beats Dublin as wind takes toll on crews". The Independent. Retrieved 25 February 2010.

[14] "Penn, Dartmouth lose their races; English Crews Triumph in Grand Challenge Event Arlett Bows in Sculling". New York Times. 3 July 1970. Retrieved 25 February 2010.

[15] "World Rowing". New York Times. 6 September 1970. p. 121 Sports. Retrieved 25 February 2010.

[nyt1975-16] Hildes-Heim, Norman (31 August 1975). "East German Oarsmen Capture 5 of 8 World Titles at Regatta". New York Times. p. 168. Retrieved 25 February 2010. ...Diamond sculls at the Henley Royal Regatta in July which Drea won for the third consecutive time

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