James Battersby

James “Jim” Battersby was a member of the men’s eight crew which won a rowing bronze medal in 1984. It was Australia’s first medal in the event since 1968. The other rowers in the eight were Ian Edmunds, Steve Evans, Clyde Hefer, Craig Muller, Sam Patten, Ion Popa, Gavin Thredgold (cox) and Tim Willoughby. Australia got off to a flying start in the final, being second behind only the eventual gold medallist, Canada, at the half-way mark. While maintaining a strong rating, Australia could not hold off the United States over the final 1000 metres in the battle for second. An engineer, Battersby has since been involved in the design and manufacture of rowing machines.