Vale Ian Allen

Rowing Australia has paid tribute to Olympian Ian Allen, a pioneering athlete and lifelong contributor to the sport, who passed away November 10 after a battle with cancer.

Allen’s rowing career began at Wesley College, where he raced in the First VIII in 1954 and 1955. His 1955 crew became the first schoolboy Eight known to compete in Victorian club events, winning maiden Eights at Ballarat, Geelong and Henley and helping set a trend that would shape Victorian rowing for generations.

After leaving school, Allen joined Albert Park Rowing Club and quickly emerged as one of the state’s most promising young oarsmen. Standing 6’2” and already an accomplished schoolboy stroke, he recorded multiple wins in his debut season and was described by clubmate and author Bob Duncan as “one of the very best ‘ready-to-row’ recruits we had ever attracted”.

In 1956, Allen was selected in the Men’s Coxed Four to compete at the Melbourne Olympic Games. The crew, an underdog combination of young and relatively unknown athletes, won their selection trials in Ballarat before finishing fourth in the Olympic final. Their bold race plan saw them lead through the first 1000m before ultimately being edged out of the medals in a photo finish.

Following the Games, the crew famously defeated the Canadian Olympic champion Coxless Four by four lengths at the Festival of Tasmania International Regatta, reaffirming their world-class calibre.

Allen later raced with Yarra Yarra Rowing Club before stepping back from elite competition, later returning to the sport as a masters rower in 1993. Competing with Collegians (later Alan Mitchell) and eventually Banks Rowing Club, he became one of Australia’s most successful masters athletes, winning State and National titles across categories D to G and securing 16 gold medals at World Masters regattas in Brisbane, Ballarat, Adelaide, Lake Bled and Seville.

He rowed actively until 2005, concluding his competitive career with victories in the coxed F4, G4 and G8 at the Australian Masters Championships in Rockhampton.

Former teammates and members of the Victorian rowing community remember Allen as a humble, determined and highly respected athlete who contributed significantly to every club he represented.

Rowing Australia extends its sincerest condolences to Ian Allen’s family, friends and former crewmates during this difficult time.