Milan Parker: A lifetime on the water

Milan Parker’s story is one that bends time.

At 85 years old, Parker still stands on the banks of Sydney’s Blackwattle Bay, coaching the next generation with the same passion that first launched his journey more than six decades ago.

But his path to Glebe Rowing Club, and the hearts of the many athletes he’s guided, is anything but ordinary.

Born and raised in Eastern Europe, Parker’s rowing career began not just on the river but inside the elite ranks of the Czech army’s professional sports division.

For 10 years, he trained and raced across Europe, pushing the limits of endurance under the mentorship of none other than Emil Zatopek, the distance running legend who won four Olympic Gold Medals, including a hat-trick in Helsinki in 1952 when he swept the 5000m, 10,000m and famously the marathon, which he had never attempted before.

It was a time of hard miles, hard science, and even harder expectations.

Athletes trained with the support of teams of doctors, underwent cutting-edge research in hypobaric chambers, and were afforded a level of backing rarely seen in sport.

His talent and drive earned him entry into a prestigious sports science program at Charles University, where out of more than 100 applicants, only five emerged with the qualification.

Armed with a new depth of knowledge, Parker quickly rose to become Head Rowing Coach of the City of Prague.

By 1968, Parker’s Coxless Four was a serious medal contender for the Mexico City Olympics.

But life had other plans.

Rather than racing for glory on the world stage, Parker found himself starting a new chapter, this time in Australia.

Throughout the decades, Parker’s coaching has never stood still.

Constantly experimenting, learning, and adapting, he has always believed that training methods must evolve, but the fundamentals of human biology remain the anchor.

“Once you understand how your body adapts, you will know what you are trying to achieve and why you are using specific training methods,” Parker said.

At Glebe Rowing Club, Parker found a true home, a community built on loyalty, support and an unwavering love of the sport.

“If other coaches knew what it was like at Glebe, they would be envious,” Parker said.

"There is no negativity. This makes all the difference, because a good club program is like a finely tuned machine.”

It’s here, surrounded by masters rowers, junior up-and-comers and lifelong friends, that Parker’s philosophy has flourished.

And it's paid dividends.

At the 2025 Australian Rowing Championships, his small squad of six junior girls came away with two national titles and a Silver Medal.

Every athlete made finals in small boats, a commendable feat that spoke not just to talent but to Parker’s meticulous, long-term planning.

By the end of the season, two of his athletes, Lucy Yabsley and Patti Boland, were selected as the Australian Under 19 Women’s Double Sculls, after training programs that saw them clock over 2000km a year, with almost no injuries and no burnout.

Lucy and Patti will compete at the upcoming World Rowing Under 19 Championships in Trakai, Lithuania, from August 6-10. 

Yet for Parker, the true rewards have always gone far beyond medals.

In the late 70s and 80s, when Glebe was a struggling, male-dominated club, he was instrumental in starting a women’s program that produced national champions and Commonwealth Games medallists.

At the same time, he coached young athletes from broken homes, offering them not just a path in sport, but a sense of stability and self-worth that changed lives.

One moment, in particular, stays with him.

“Just recently, a middle-aged woman came up to me at the club,” Parker said.

“She hugged me and said, ‘Thank you for what you did for me’. I didn’t even remember her face. But that meant more to me than any medal I’ve ever won.”

Today, Parker remains a fixture at Glebe, coaching six days a week, rain or shine.

His motivation?

Commitment. Loyalty. And the quiet joy of seeing athletes reach heights they once thought impossible.

Parker’s goals are simple: “To develop more successful junior rowers, and to pass on my training methods to younger coaches.”

Some legacies are measured in medals.

Others, like Parker’s, are measured in lives changed forever, one stroke at a time.