Bill Lucas
Bill represented Great Britain at Junior, Under 23 and Senior levels in the double and quadruple scull. He won a total of 10 medals in international competitions, including gold at the Under 23 World Championships in 2008. In 2012, he was a member of Team GB, rowing in the double sculls and placing fifth.
Bill began rowing on the river Dart in Devon, before joining the Dart Totnes Amateur Rowing Club. At age 17, his potential for international competition was spotted by Team GB’s Rowing Start Programme, and he joined the National Coaching programme.
During his time at Reading, Bill and team mate – fellow Reading student Charles Cousins – won a bronze medal in the men’s double scull at the Under 23 World Championships in Glasgow (2007), before winning gold in 2008 at Brandenburg, Germany.
In 2009, he joined the Team GB senior squad and competed in the double and quad sculls at numerous World Cups, winning a string of silver and bronze medals. He represented Great Britain in the double scull alongside another Reading graduate, Sam Townsend, at the 2012 Olympic Games in London, placing fifth overall.
A lower back injury caused Bill to retire from professional rowing in 2014. Not content to spend his time on dry land, Bill joined the GREAT Britain team for the Clipper Round the World Yacht Race later that year, completing the Southern Ocean Leg from South Africa to Western Australian. He is also a Patron of the Dame Kelly Holmes Trust, which supports disadvantaged young people through mentoring with world-class athletes.
“The University of Reading was instrumental in my development from a junior rower with potential into an Under 23 World Champion and a member of the senior British Rowing Team."
