13 Facts About Richard Burnell

Richard Desborough Burnell was an English rower who won a gold medal at the 1948 Olympics alongside Bert Bushnell in the double sculls.

Burnell was born in Henley-on-Thames the son of Charles Burnell who won a gold medal in the eights at the 1908 Summer Olympics.

Richard Burnell was educated at Eton College and Oxford University.

In May 1939, Richard Burnell was commissioned into the London Rifle Brigade.

Richard Burnell was on the losing Oxford team in The Boat Race in 1939.

Richard Burnell was a rowing correspondent for The Times and wrote several books on rowing matters.

Richard Burnell competed for Kingston Rowing Club and in 1946 won the Wingfield Sculls.

At the 1948 Olympics Richard Burnell won a gold medal with Bert Bushnell in the double sculls, Richard Burnell and Bushnell having never previously trained together.

Bushnell and Richard Burnell both attended the opening ceremony of the 1948 Games, something Bushnell described as "dreadful", as they gave the athletes poorly fitting uniforms and made them stand out in the sun en-masse for three hours.

On 9 August 1948, in front of a home crowd, Bushnell and Richard Burnell competed in the Olympic final against the double scull teams of Uruguay and Denmark.

Richard Burnell won a bronze medal in the eights at the 1950 British Empire Games, and in 1951 he won the Double Sculls Challenge Cup at Henley Royal Regatta, together with Pat Bradley.

Richard Burnell continued to write on international rowing events for the Sunday Times until 1990.

In 1940 Richard Burnell married Rosalind, a daughter of English Olympic gold medal-winning rower Stanley Garton.