Led by stroke man Don Arnold (considered the team’s seasoned veteran with just one year of rowing experience), and MacKinnon in the bow seat, the crew got stronger and stronger leading up to the 1956 Royal Canadian Henley Regatta. Though very different people, the four came together as a team and relied on their collective athleticism. In fact, of our fours crew, three of us were freshman who had never rowed before.”įrom left to right: Archie MacKinnon, Lorne Loomer, Walter D'Hondt, Donald Arnold But I started off modestly, meeting others who had never rowed before like myself. I was in good shape and keen to row and get on a good crew. “Frank Read was an outstanding coach, and very tough. But the fire had been lit, and MacKinnon had made up his mind - he would be going to UBC. This news came as quite the surprise to MacKinnon’s father, as his son had no previous rowing experience, aside from taking his mom for a spin in a rowboat around the lake. I read all about Frank Read and I wanted him to be my coach.” “UBC had been doing very well and every week I read about the team in The Province and The Vancouver Sun. I would take the courses and go into engineering, but I went there specifically to row,” says MacKinnon. “I told my Dad I wanted to go to UBC because they had a good rowing team. But MacKinnon was eager to prove himself in a new sport, on his own terms, and he had been inspired by reading the newspaper articles about UBC rowing and specifically the team’s coach, Frank Read. It had long been expected that he would follow in his father’s footsteps and head east to attend the University of Toronto. MacKinnon’s rowing history glows with inspirational stories of teamwork and victory, but the tale of how he got his start in the sport goes back to the kitchen table of his Cranbrook home and a pivotal discussion between father and son.īack in 1955 MacKinnon was a graduating high school student who had just been kicked off the basketball team for not being "fast or tough enough". A pillar in Canadian rowing, Archie MacKinnon is the last surviving member of the “Cinderella Four”, the UBC coxless fours team who took the rowing world by surprise when they stormed to a gold medal finish at the 1956 Olympics. At a reunion event to honour Thunderbird rowing legends and celebrate the 100-year anniversary of UBC’s rowing program, no introduction garnered more cheers than that of 85-year-old Archibald MacKinnon.
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