William's Story
William Lockwood made his second Olympic Games appearance in 2016, as the Australian men’s coxless four looked to turn their London silver medal into gold.
After winning their semi-final, the Aussies took on powerhouse crew and reigning Olympic Champions Great Britain. The Australians were challenging the British at the halfway mark, with only 0.22 of a second separating the two crews. As they approached the 1500 metre mark the British began to edge away from Australia, by half a boat length, and the defending champions held on to win the title that they have not relinquished since the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games.
The Victorian burst onto the international scene when he claimed a bronze medal in the men’s eight at the 2010 World Championships in New Zealand. In the same year, Lockwood won two World Cup medals, a gold in the men’s four and silver in the men’s eight, before securing a men’s four bronze medal at the U23 World Championships.
Lockwood was paired with dual Olympian, James Chapman, and the pair claimed a silver medal in at the 2011 World Championships, before being selected in a new-look men’s four for the 2012 Olympics with Joshua Dunkley-Smith and legend Drew Ginn.
Before their Games appearance, the four won silver at World Cup II and gold at World Cup III, and successfully secured themselves a ticket to the Olympic final at London. In a nail-biting finish, the Aussies finished again just 1.22 seconds behind the British crew to take home Olympic silver.
