London, ON - Western Mustangs rowing alumnus Iain Brambell has been named as Team Leader for the Australian Olympic Sailing Team. 

This will be Brambell's seventh Olympic Games, but his first time outside of the Canadian Team. Brambell is a three-time Olympian, having previously competed in the Lightweight Four Men's rowing at the 2000 Sydney, 2004 Athens, and 2008 Beijing Summer Olympic Games as part of Team Canada. Brambell won bronze for Team Canada at the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games with the Lightweight Four Men's rowing team, and placed 7th in the 2000 Sydney Games and 5th in the 2004 Athens Games. He has also attended three Olympic Games as support staff. 

Brambell has held incredible roles in high sport following his graduation from Western's Bachelor of Education program in 1998. He was the 2001-2010 Chair of the Canadian Olympic Committee's Athletic Commission, an Athlete Commission Representative Board Member with the Canadian Olympic Committee from 2004-2010, an Athletes' Commission Representative for World Rowing (FISA) from 2010-2016, and the High Performance Advisor for Canada's Own The Podium from 2013-2017. 

As a Western Mustangs student athlete, Brambell was able to connect with rowing legends and Western Alumni for training. "I was really fortunate to be coached by my national team teammates and UWO alumni Jon Beare (1998) and Jeff Lay (1995)," said Brambell. "Both were rowing legends and had just come off winning medals at the 1997 World Championships. Beare and I then teamed up for three consecutive Olympic Games (2000, 2004 & 2008), winning bronze in Beijing in a Lightweight Men's Four that contained three Western alumni, including Liam Parsons (2005)." 

Prior to and following his graduation from Western, Brambell found himself spending time at Western and in London for training. "Rowing Canada's Lightweight Men's National Team program was based in London under the expert coaching leadership of Volker Nolte, and I relocated to London each spring/summer from 1994 through the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games," Brambell explained. "Our pre-departure camp prior to the 2000 Olympics was held at Lake Fanshawe with dryland training facilities and accommodations provided at Western." 


Iain Brambell (L); Photos courtesy of Iain Brambell.

Brambell also acted as Rowing Canada's High Performance Director from 2017-2021 throughout the Tokyo Summer Olympic and Paralympic Games, where he led the program to two Olympic medals, including a gold medal in the Women's Eight.

In late 2021, Brambell joined Australian Sailing as their new High Performance Director after previously working for The Australian Sports Commission as a Senior Sport Consultant and Senior Sport Partnership Manager from 2010-2013. 

As for how Brambell found himself changing from rowing to sailing, it came from his various experiences and connections within high performance sport administration. "I learned to sail very poorly in elementary school and naturally moved to rowing, as I was better at pulling a boat along rather than being patient enough to let the wind do the work for me," Brambell said with a laugh. "During my time working for Canada's Own The Podium [an organization that prioritizes and determines high sport investment strategies for Canada's Olympic and Paralympic sport organizations] I was the High Performance Advisor to Sail Canada into the 2016 Rio Olympic and Paralympic Games. Following my time as Rowing Canada's High Performance Director at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, I was recruited into my current role as Australian Sailing's High Performance Director into the 2024 Paris Olympics." 

Brambell spoke about how honoured he is to work with the incredibly talented athletes, coaches, and staff of the Australian Olympic Sailing Team. "It's more about the incredible team of people I am privileged to call colleagues than the colour of our uniform," said Brambell. "This is the first of my seven Olympic teams that I am not registered with the Canadian contingent, however I am very proud to say all seven Olympic team experiences have a very special place in my heart, including this very new experience of dawning the Green and Gold." 

Thanks to his Olympic and extensive high level sport background, Brambell is able to draw on personal experiences and professional knowledge to support his team. "Having been an athlete at three Games and a support staff member in various capacities at four additional Games has given me invaluable insights into the Games environment," Brambell said. "[I am able] to draw from all kinds of stories in exploring and resolving issues that arise throughout the planning and delivery of Olympic campaigns." 

When concluding the interview, Brambell expressed his appreciation of the continued association to Western and its community. "It's really special and meaningful to keep my connection to Western as the school and London community were very central to my rowing journey," said Brambell. 

The 2024 Summer Olympic Games will take place July 27 to August 11, in Paris, France. Regular sailing events will run from July 28 to 31, and August 3 to 5. Sailing medal events will run from August 1 to 2 and 6 to 8. 

The Western Mustangs are purple and proud to support Iain Brambell, Mustangs alumnus, at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.

Watch for more stories on Mustangs at the Paris 2024 Summer Olympics over the coming weeks. https://westernmustangs.ca/news/2024/7/22/communications-and-media-relations-mustangs-at-the-paris-2024-olympics.aspx