Graham Benton
Personal information
Nickname(s)Big G
Erg Daddy
NationalityBritish
Bornc. 1973
Years active2002-present
Height200 cm (6 ft 7 in)
Sport
CountryUnited Kingdom
SportIndoor rowing
Weight classHeavyweight
TeamMAD Team IRC
Coached byEddie Fletcher
Achievements and titles
World finals6x
National finals15x
Personal best5:42.5 for 2000m

Graham Benton is a British indoor rower.[1][2] He has won the British Rowing Indoor Championships 15 times and the World Indoor Rowing Championships six.[3][4] While Benton is primarily an indoor rower, he did row on the water, representing England and competing at several Henley Royal Regattas.[5]

Athletic career

Benton competed in his first indoor rowing competition at age 29.[5] In 2004, Graham Benton became the first non-water rower to win the men's open heavyweight event at the British Indoor Rowing Championships at 5:53.5.[6][7] He went on to win this title again in 2005 (5:46.9),[8] 2006 (5:46.7),[9] 2007, 2008,[10] 2010 (5:50.8),[11] 2011 (5:46),[12] 2012,[5][13][14][15] 2013 (5:52.4),[16] 2014 (5:52.4),[17] 2015 (5:55:6),[18] 2016 (5:55),[19] 2017 (5:55.7),[20] and 2018[21][2] Benton also won the 30-39 year heavyweight class World Indoor Rowing Championships in 2004 (5:51.40),[22] 2005 (5:53.60),[23][24] and 2006 (5:46.40)[25][26] and in the 40-49 heavyweight class in 2016 (5:48.3),[27][4][28] 2017 (5:48),[29] and 2018 (5:54).[30][2][31][32]

In 2012, he set a new British record in the 35-39 heavyweight men's class at the British Indoor Rowing Championships (5:50.1), a title previously held by Sir Steve Redgrave since 1998.[5] In 2014, he held the British outright record at 5:42.5 and in 2017, he had the fastest time in the men's heavyweight open 2000m at the Welsh Indoor Rowing Championships.[33][17] He was a Henley Royal Regatta finalist in outdoor rowing in 2007, 2008, and 2012.[2][5] He was given a Lifetime Achievement Award by Concept2 in 2010.

Benton is coached by Eddie Fletcher and was previously part of the ARA World Class Start Program. He currently rows for MAD Team IRC,[25][15][4] and has previously rowed for Tideway Scullers School, Taurus and Reading University Boat Club.

Personal life

Benton works as an Account Manager for BMC Software.[1] He was formerly an "elite-level" cricket bowler and is an alumnus of King's School, Chester.[34][25][5] He is from Wrexham originally and now lives in Southsea, Hampshire.

References

  1. 1 2 "Spotlight on: Graham Benton, World Rowing Indoor Champion". Bloomberg Square Mile Virtual Club. 1 March 2021. Retrieved 15 May 2022.
  2. 1 2 3 4 "Veterans Head: Bradley Wiggins makes his Tideway rowing debut". We Row. 26 March 2018. Retrieved 15 May 2022.
  3. ↑ "Mizuno British Rowing Indoor Championships 2019". Sports on Spec. 7 December 2019. Retrieved 15 May 2022.
  4. 1 2 3 "FITNESS MATTERS INDOOR ROWING AMBASSADORS". Fitness Matters. 2016. Retrieved 15 May 2022.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "BENTON'S DEVOTED INDOOR ROWING DRIVE". World Rowing. 8 December 2013. Retrieved 15 May 2022.
  6. ↑ "British success at the World Indoor Rowing Championships". We Row. 22 February 2018. Retrieved 15 May 2022.
  7. ↑ "Indoor success for county rowing stars". Worcester News. 27 November 2004. Retrieved 15 May 2022.
  8. ↑ "British Indoor Champs 2005". The Rowing Service. 20 November 2005. Retrieved 15 May 2022.
  9. ↑ "British Indoor Rowing Championships 2006". The Rowing Service. 12 November 2006. Retrieved 15 May 2022.
  10. ↑ "Rowing: Weighell makes top 10 in London". Wales Online. 2009. Retrieved 15 May 2022.
  11. ↑ "Event A1 - Men Open Hwt" (PDF). Row2k. 2010. Retrieved 15 May 2022.
  12. ↑ "3,000 BRITS GO INDOOR FOR ROWING". World Rowing. 7 December 2011. Retrieved 15 May 2022.
  13. ↑ "Indoor rowing records smashed at the 2012 BIRC". British Rowing. 26 March 2012. Retrieved 15 May 2022.
  14. ↑ Waddle, Harry (28 March 2012). "Rowing success for University Boat Club". University of Nottingham. Retrieved 15 May 2022.
  15. 1 2 "Steve Redgrave's Last Indoor Rowing Record Is Broken". Male XTRA. 2 April 2012. Retrieved 15 May 2022.
  16. ↑ "Records tumble at British Indoor Champs". British Rowing. 11 December 2013. Retrieved 15 May 2022.
  17. 1 2 "[07/01/2014] EL INGLÉS GRAHAM BENTON INSTAURA UN NUEVO RÉCORD DEL MUNDO EN 40-49 AÑOS" (in Spanish). Vermont. 7 January 2014. Retrieved 15 May 2022.
  18. ↑ "British Rowing Indoor Championships" (PDF). British Rowing. 15 December 2015. Retrieved 15 May 2022.
  19. ↑ "CHAMPIONSHIP RECORDS". Indoor Champs Results. n.d. Retrieved 15 May 2022.
  20. ↑ "British Rowing Indoor Championships" (PDF). British Rowing. 9 December 2017. Retrieved 15 May 2022.
  21. ↑ "Sat, 11:11 - Race 109 - M40 2000 meter". Regatta Time-Team. 2020. Retrieved 15 May 2022.
  22. ↑ "Results of Event: Master Men". CRASH-B. 2004. Retrieved 15 May 2022.
  23. ↑ Bray, Melissa (13 November 2006). "Three in a row for Benton at the British Champs". World Rowing. Archived from the original on 28 June 2007. Retrieved 15 May 2022.
  24. ↑ "Results of Event: Master Men (30-39, Heavyweight)". CRASH-B. 2005. Retrieved 15 May 2022.
  25. 1 2 3 Bordeau, Topher (2006). "Quick catches". Rowing News. Retrieved 15 May 2022.
  26. ↑ "Results of Event: Open Men". CRASH-B. 2006. Retrieved 15 May 2022.
  27. ↑ "35 YEARS OF INDOOR ROWING AT CRASH-BS". World Rowing. 1 March 2016. Retrieved 15 May 2022.
  28. ↑ Rosenbladt, Oli (29 February 2016). "CRASH-B 2016: 35 Years of the Burn". Row2k. Retrieved 15 May 2022.
  29. ↑ "World Champion". Termaxx. 10 August 2017. Retrieved 15 May 2022.
  30. ↑ "ERG SPRINTS RECORDS". ERG Springs. 8 February 2019. Retrieved 15 May 2022.
  31. ↑ "2018 2000m RowErg Rankings". Concept2. 2018. Retrieved 15 May 2022.
  32. ↑ "Graham Benton's World Rowing Indoor Championship review". British Rowing. 27 February 2018. Retrieved 15 May 2022.
  33. ↑ "Rowing: Stroke of genius by Benton". Wales Onlineaccess-date=2022-05-15. 2017.
  34. ↑ "Notable Alumni". The King's School, Chester. n.d. Retrieved 15 May 2022.
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