The Australian Institute of Sport and Rowing Australia today announced that Noel Donaldson has been appointed the Head National and AIS Men’s Coach.

Coming on the back of the recent recruitment of Andrew Matheson from New Zealand to head up Australia’s high performance program, Donaldson’s appointment is the second in a comprehensive restructure that will result in a leadership team that will be the envy of world rowing.

Donaldson will be familiar with his new role having previously held a similar position as Australian Men’s Head Coach for four years prior to the 2004 Athens Olympic Games. He is considered to be one of the world’s leading rowing coaches and was coach of the Oarsome Foursome at the Barcelona and Atlanta Olympic Games.

“The next Olympic cycle promises to be an exciting one for rowing in Australia and I look forward to working with all members of the high performance set up,” Donaldson said.

“I am encouraged to once again be working closely with our young and talented athletes and resuming coaching within the international arena”.

“The fantastic opportunity provided by the new arrangement with the AIS will allow athletes to optimize the wonderful resources at the AIS.”

In addition to Donaldson’s appointment, Lyall McCarthy has been retained as the Head National and AIS Women’s Coach.

McCarthy, who has been in charge of the women’s program since 2004, has also coached crews at four Olympic Games, including Beijing where he took charge of the women’s eight and pair.

These two appointments come three weeks after Matheson was named as the High Performance Director of the new program.

Matheson has spent the past six years as Rowing New Zealand’s high performance manager whereby the Kiwi’s have enjoyed a golden period in rowing.

AIS Director Professor Peter Fricker said Donaldson’s arrival at the AIS will continue the Institute’s tradition of pursuing excellence.

‘Noel will bring high level technical knowledge and international experience to the AIS/National rowing program’, Professor Fricker said.

‘He is enthusiastic about his role in assisting Australia’s talented rowing athletes achieve further success on the world sporting stage.

‘The Institute’s rowing program will be jointly managed and funded under an agreed management structure between the AIS and RA, and provides an exciting new platform for the future of high performance rowing in Australia.’

Rowing Australia CEO Andrew Dee welcomed the addition of Donaldson to the revamped high performance set up.

“Noel’s services have been chased by a number of other countries with lots of money and we are extremely fortunate to have been able to retain his expertise and experience in Australia”, Dee said.

“These three appointments are just the beginning of a new and exciting chapter in Australian rowing”.