David Douglas (rower)
David G. A. Douglas (born 16 March 1947) is a former Australian rower from Melbourne. He began rowing at Scotch College and later competed for the Mercantile Rowing Club.
Douglas was a five-time Australian national champion and won a gold medal at the first North American championships in 1967. He also earned a silver medal at the 1968 Olympic Games in Mexico City as part of the Australian men's eight.
State and national career: He first represented Victoria in 1967 in the King's Cup eight, and he rowed in Victorian crews at Interstate Regattas through 1971. Victoria won the King's Cup in 1969, 1970 and 1971. In 1968, he won the Australian coxed four title with a Mercantile/MUBC crew.
In 1967, his all-Victorian coxed four was chosen to race at the US championships, the inaugural North American championships and the European Championships. They finished second in the US and won the North American title.
Olympics and world championships: In 1968, Douglas joined the Australian men’s eight for the Mexico City Olympics, seated at three, and the team won silver. At the 1970 World Rowing Championships in St. Catharines, he rowed in the six seat as Australia finished fifth.
After retiring from competition, Douglas served as Chairman of selectors at Mercantile Rowing Club for several years. He was inducted into the Rowing Victoria Hall of Fame in 2010.
Family: His daughter Gina Douglas is also an Australian national representative rower, competing at six world championships and at Atlanta 1996 (women’s eight) and Sydney 2000 (single sculler). His son Robert Douglas rowed in the Australian men’s eight at the 2001 and 2002 World Rowing Championships.
This page was last edited on 2 February 2026, at 19:05 (CET).