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Australian rowing greats Kim (Crow) Brennan and Tim McLaren have been inducted into the Sport Australia Hall of Fame.
Brennan won gold in the single at the 2016 Rio Olympics, becoming the first Australian woman in 20 years to do so. The win also completed Brennan’s medal collection, complementing the silver in the double and bronze in the single she won in London 2012. Brennan is a two-time world champion and in 2019 was awarded the Thomas Keller Medal, World Rowing’s top honor, for her “exceptional rowing career and exemplary sportsmanship.”
McLaren, who coaches part-time at California Rowing Club, continues to serve the sport in a 40-plus year career as an athlete, coach, and educator.
“Tim is an icon. We love Tim, and it’s way, way long overdue,” said Mike Teti, who coached the U.S. men’s eight with McLaren in Tokyo and continues to work with him in California.
“He’s given so much selflessly, so much to the sport in multiple different countries—what he does for Cambridge every year, what he’s done for American rowing, and what he’s done for Australian rowing, multiple Olympic medals. And he’s a very humble guy.”
An accomplished rower who missed Olympic gold narrowly in 1984, McLaren transitioned to coaching and led Australia’s University of Technology Sydney (UTS) Rowing Club to international prominence, guiding athletes to Olympic success, including the gold medal-winning double in 1992. His technical expertise and dedication transformed Australian rowing, earning him an Order of Australia medal in 1998.
The Hall of Fame honor “was a surprise for me,” McLaren said. “It’s nice, and of course you feel a little underqualified in a group of such famous names.”
