Dickie Burnell
| Personal information | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Richard Desborough Burnell | ||||||
| Nickname(s) | Dickie | ||||||
| Nationality | English | ||||||
| Born |
July 26, 1917 Henley-on-Thames, South Oxfordshire |
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| Died | January 29, 1995 (aged 77) Henley-on-Thames, Oxfordshire |
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| Sport | |||||||
| Country |
 United Kingdom
|
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| Sport | Rowing | ||||||
| Event(s) | Double sculls | ||||||
| Former partner(s) | Bertie Bushnell | ||||||
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Medal record
|
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| Medal record | ||
|---|---|---|
| Men's Rowing | ||
| Olympic Games | ||
| Representing Great Britain
|
||
 |
1948 London | double sculls |
| British Empire Games | ||
Representing  England
|
||
 |
1950 Auckland | eights |
Richard "Dickie" Desborough Burnell (26 July 1917 – 29 January 1995) was an English rower who competed in the 1948 Summer Olympics and won the gold medal alongside Bertram "Bertie" Bushnell in the double sculls. He and his father Charles Burnell are the only father and son in Olympic history to have won gold medals in rowing.
Burnell was born in Henley-on-Thames the son of Charles Burnell who had won a gold medal in the Men's Eight in the 1908 Summer Olympics. He was educated at Eton College and Oxford University.
In May 1939, Burnell was commissioned into the London Rifle Brigade. He was on the losing Oxford team in The Boat Race in 1939. He was a rowing correspondent for The Times and wrote several books on rowing matters. He rowed for Kingston Rowing Club and in 1946 he won the Wingfield Sculls.
In the 1948 Summer Olympics Burnell won the gold medal with his partner Bert Bushnell in the double sculls event. Burnell was chosen to pair with Bert Bushnell in the Olympic double sculls event, having never previously trained with his new partner.Jack Beresford told Bushnell that there wasn't a chance for him to win the single sculls, and so created the double sculls team instead. Their differing physiques — Burnell was 6 ft 4inches and weighed 14½ stone, while Bushnell was 5 ft 10 inches and 10½ stone — presented some difficulties in the boat, which Bushnell had to re-rig so that they were able to reach together.
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