Richard Arnst
| Richard Arnst | |
|---|---|
| Born | 28 November 1883 Tai Tapu, New Zealand |
| Died | 7 December 1953 (aged 70) |
| Nationality | New Zealand |
| Other names | Dick Arnst |
| Title | World champion sculler |
| Term | 1908–1912 and 1921–1922 |
| Predecessor | William Webb (rower) & Ernest Barry |
| Successor | Ernest Barry & Darcy Hadfield |
Richard Arnst or Dick Arnst (28 November 1883 – 7 December 1953), born Jacob Diedrich Arnst, was a New Zealand rower, six times Single Sculls World Champion during the early part of the 20th century.
Richard Arnst was the eighth of thirteen children born to Hermann and Catharina Arnst. The family lived at Tai Tapu near Christchurch. He, and several of his brothers, became champion cyclists both on the road and on the track. Richard and his brother Jack were placed fourth and third respectively in the 1903 Timaru to Christchurch road race which was over a distance of 112 miles (180 km). Jack subsequently won, in record time, the 1903 road race between Warrnambool and Melbourne over a distance of 165 miles (266 km). Some of the credit of this win was due to Arnst's unselfish pacing of his brother. Richard gained 5th place in this race in the second fastest time, that was inside the previous best time. The brothers returned to Australia in 1904 with Richard finishing in 10th and Jack well back in 25th. In 1905 Jack could only manage 76th with Richard in 77th.
On the brothers second trip to Australia in 1904 they raced in the Goulburn to Sydney Classic with Jack finishing 2nd and setting the fastest time, and Richard finishing 12th. Jack again set the fastest time in 1905, finishing 15th while Richard suffered with cramps.
Richard Arnst culminated his cycling career by winning the Sydney Thousand in March 1906. The Sydney Thousand was a track race which carried a total prize purse of £1000 and thus was the richest track race in the world at that time. Only the very top cyclists were in the final held in Sydney.
After this Richard Arnst took up sculling; a sport in which he had no previous experience. He was tutored in Australia by experts and after six months or so started winning some races. On the strength of these he challenged various leading Australian scullers for a match race but most were rejected on the grounds that he was too inexperienced. However, one was accepted by Harry Pearce, for a stake of £100 a side. The race was won by Arnst who subsequently challenged fellow New Zealander William Webb (rower) for the professional Single Sculls World Championship title. Webb had won the title in Sydney in 1907, and held off one challenge in New Zealand. These races were normally over a distance of about three and a quarter miles. Webb accepted Arnst's challenge with the stake at £500 a side. The sum of £500 would be the amount of money earned over several years by a working man at the time. The match was held on the Whanganui River (New Zealand) on 15 December 1908 and Arnst won by eight or ten lengths. He had achieved the distinction of becoming World Champion after only a couple of years or so in the sport.
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