Coxswain Price Joins Row Ontario Hall of Fame

Two-time Olympic medalist Brian Price was honoured on Friday as Row Ontario announced the coxswain as the final inductee of the 2024 Row Ontario Hall of Fame class.

A native of Belleville, ON, Price got his start in rowing at the Quinte Rowing Club while in high school in 1995. He quickly took to the sport and continued rowing at the Argonaut Rowing Club while he completed his honours diploma in civil engineering at Seneca College in Toronto. Price made his first National Team in 1998 and by 2001 had taken over as the top coxswain in Canada. With his induction Price becomes the second coxswain to be inducted into the Row Ontario Hall of Fame.

“Although I was completely captivated by the Olympics as kid, I never dreamed I would one day have the opportunity to compete at the highest level let alone win Olympic Gold,” said Price. “I got into the sport because I thought the QRC jackets looked really cool and remembered watching the 1992 Men’s Eight win gold in Barcelona. My small stature was perfect to be a coxswain and I became a key part of the boat to help it go fast. My early days in the sport were extremely fun which is one of the reasons I stayed in the sport.”

Price’s first major international accomplishment came in 2002 when he guided the Men’s Eight to gold at the FISA World Rowing Championships in Seville, Spain. The crew would repeat as World Champions in 2003 and entered the 2004 Olympic year as one of the favourites to win gold. Olympic glory would have to wait for Price and the eight as they came in fifth place at the 2004 Athens Olympics. Despite the setback, the crew pushed forward and again claimed a World Championship gold medal in 2007. At the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, Price would reach the pinnacle of the sport, guiding the eight to Olympic gold in a dominant win over rival boats from Great Britain and USA.

Following the Olympic gold medal in 2008, Price stepped away from the National Team and spent two years travelling the country and sharing his story with fellow Canadians as a motivational speaker. He returned to the National Team in 2010 with the goal of leading a largely new and inexperienced crew to the Olympic podium. He succeeded with that goal and capped off his national team career by winning a second Olympic medal in the Men’s Eight. This time a silver where the crew stormed back in the final 500m passing the home favourite GB at the London 2012 Olympics.

In addition to his success with the eight, Price also won four World Championship medals in the coxed pair. Overall, in his outstanding career Price earned eight World Championship medals (3 gold, 5 bronze), eight World Cup medals (5 gold, 1 silver, 2 bronze) and was a 3-time Royal Henley Regatta Grand Challenge Cup Champion. He was privileged to be coached throughout his National Team career under to expert guidance of Mike Spracklen. Price was also the recipient of many accolades during his career, including being named a two-time Belleville Athlete of the Year (2004, 2008) an induction to the BC Sport Hall of Fame in 2008, Canadian Olympic Sports Hall of Fame in 2014 and received the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal in 2012.

Price moved to Orangeville Ontario in 2013 with his wife Robbi and two daughters Brianna and Peyton. He got a role as an RBC Olympian which quickly landed him a role as a Branch Manager in his local market where he excelled in that role for eight years. Most recently he moved on to a new area and challenge becoming a Commercial Account Manager for RBC.

In 2020 Price’s daughter began rowing in grade nine and he got back into the sport through coaching at the Island Lake Rowing Club based out of Orangeville. He has also been a volunteer rep hockey coach for over a decade on both of his daughters’ teams. His love for sport and giving back to his community through sport remains a cornerstone.

Row Ontario has announced the 2024 Hall of Fame class throughout the week as part of ‘Hall of Fame Week’. Already announced as inductees this week were Bill Donegan (Umpire), Doc Fitz-James (Coach), Michael Murphy (Builder) and the 1990 Women’s LWT 4- (Crew), and Kay Worthington (Athlete).