Rand was born in Tottenham, the eldest of three children. He and his brother Willy were evacuated during the Second World War to 44 Irthlingborough Road, Finedon, Northants. After the war the family returned to Tottenham and Rand attended Down Lane School.[1] He started rowing on the River Lea in east London at the age of 14 where he sculled a Thames skiff until he was good enough for a fine boat.[2] He raced at various regattas such as the Norfolk Sculls in 1952[3] until, he joined the Royal Air Force on National Service that year. He was posted to RAF Benson, where as a corporal, he rowed for the RAF,[4] the force's rowing facilities being based with Wallingford Rowing Club across the River Thames.
In 1961 Rand met Olympic long-jumper Mary Bignal and she accepted his marriage proposal shortly after they met. He supported her at the 1964 Summer Olympics where she won gold, silver and bronze. The marriage ended after five years.[1]
After his international career, Rand turned to coaching at Upper Thames Rowing Club and Leander Club and spent time with the British squad at the end of the 20th century. In 1999 he coached Steve Williams and Simon Dennis to a win at the Silver Goblets at Henley. He continued to row and scull himself, competing regularly.[1] He also resumed skiffing being a successful competitor at the Wargrave and Shiplake Regatta.[2]
sidney, rand, rower, sidney, charles, rand, august, 1934, december, 2008, english, rower, competed, great, britain, 1956, summer, olympics, 1960, summer, olympics, wingfield, sculls, 1954, double, sculls, challenge, henley, royal, regatta, 1956, sidney, randpe. Sidney Charles Rand 17 August 1934 25 December 2008 was an English rower who competed for Great Britain at the 1956 Summer Olympics and at the 1960 Summer Olympics He won the Wingfield Sculls in 1954 and the Double Sculls Challenge Cup at Henley Royal Regatta in 1956 Sidney RandPersonal informationBorn17 August 1934TottenhamDied25 December 2008 2008 12 25 aged 74 Royal Berkshire Hospital Reading BerkshireSportSportRowingMedal record Men s rowing Representing United Kingdom British Empire Games 1954 Vancouver Single sculls European Rowing Championships 1954 Bosbaan Coxless fourLife and sport editRand was born in Tottenham the eldest of three children He and his brother Willy were evacuated during the Second World War to 44 Irthlingborough Road Finedon Northants After the war the family returned to Tottenham and Rand attended Down Lane School 1 He started rowing on the River Lea in east London at the age of 14 where he sculled a Thames skiff until he was good enough for a fine boat 2 He raced at various regattas such as the Norfolk Sculls in 1952 3 until he joined the Royal Air Force on National Service that year He was posted to RAF Benson where as a corporal he rowed for the RAF 4 the force s rowing facilities being based with Wallingford Rowing Club across the River Thames In 1954 Rand won the Wingfield Sculls beating Tony Fox and John Marsden and competed in the event nine times in his career 5 He also won the first Scullers Head and was selected for the 1954 British Empire and Commonwealth Games in Vancouver where he took silver After completing his three years of National Service Rand moved to Henley on Thames where he joined Leander Club working full time for a Henley building firm In 1955 he lost the final of the Diamond Challenge Sculls at Henley Royal Regatta by a length and a half to Teodor Kocerka but in 1956 won the Double sculls with his brother Bill Rand 6 They were selected for the 1956 Summer Olympics in Melbourne where they were the fastest losers in the repechage In 1960 Sid Rand competed in the single sculls at the 1960 Summer Olympics in Rome 7 In 1961 Rand met Olympic long jumper Mary Bignal and she accepted his marriage proposal shortly after they met He supported her at the 1964 Summer Olympics where she won gold silver and bronze The marriage ended after five years 1 After his international career Rand turned to coaching at Upper Thames Rowing Club and Leander Club and spent time with the British squad at the end of the 20th century In 1999 he coached Steve Williams and Simon Dennis to a win at the Silver Goblets at Henley He continued to row and scull himself competing regularly 1 He also resumed skiffing being a successful competitor at the Wargrave and Shiplake Regatta 2 Rand died of cancer at the Royal Berkshire Hospital aged 74 1 References edit a b c d Olympian who never lost love of rowing Henley Standard 12 January 2009 Archived 1 July 2016 at the Wayback Machine a b Obituary of Sid Rand Norfolk Sculls History RAF Flight Global Wingfield Sculls Record of Races Henley Royal Regatta Results of Final Races 1946 2003 Olympic Record Sidney Rand Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Sidney Rand rower amp oldid 1208556080, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
