Richard McClure

Biography

Rower Richard “Dick” McClure was a member of the University of British Columbia (UBC) men’s eights crew that was chosen to represent Canada at Melbourne 1956. Only half of the crew had any real rowing experience and with only a year to prepare for the Games, a competitive team was rebuilt and challenged for the Olympic gold medal. McClure won a silver medal for Canada, behind the Americans by only two seconds, with teammates David Helliwell, Philip Kueber, Richard McClure, Doug MacDonald, Bill McKerlich, Carl Ogawa, Donald Pretty, Lawrence West and Robert Wilson.

At the 1958 British Empire and Commonwealth Games, McClure earned silver medal in the coxless fours alongside John Madden, Glen Smith and Malcolm Turnbull.

Graduating from UBC in 1959 with a degree in mechanical engineering, McClure pursued a career as a professional engineer. He stayed involved in the sport by joining the Burnaby Lake Rowing Club as a coach in 1977, becoming the backbone of the club by managing the facility, its equipment and was an inspiration and mentor for hundreds of scullers, all as a volunteer.  He provided financial support and opened his home to underprivileged, young athletes. McClure also served as a national team coach for many international events including the 1983 World Championships and two Olympic Games – Los Angeles 1984 and Atlanta 1996. In 1999, he was awarded the National 3M Coach of the Year. 

A rowing scholarship at Simon Fraser University is named in McClure’s honour. Along with his Olympic silver medal winning crew, McClure was inducted into the Canadian Olympic Sports Hall of Fame in 1958, British Columbia Sports Hall of Fame in 1976, and individually into the British Columbia (1999), UBC (2002) and Burnaby (2003) Sports Halls of Fame.