John Armstrong has taken up a new position with Queens University as Head Rowing Coach. John has left Rowing Ireland to take up this new position. John had been working with Rowing Ireland as Talent Development Coach for seven years.

John has a wealth of experience in the sport and has a lifelong involvement in Rowing. John competed for Ireland at the highest level and won a Bronze Medal at the World Rowing Championships in 1997. John has been coaching since 1994 and started working with Rowing Ireland teams in 2008, he was the coach for the Para Rowing Team at the Paralympics in 2012. After the Paralympics, John worked full time with younger athletes on the High-Performance Pathway and contributing to the success of Irish Rowing in recent years.

John’s appointment comes as a result of Rowing Ireland’s partnership with Queens University. John will be supported by Rowing Ireland and Sport Northern Ireland to further develop Queens University’s high-performance programme using Rowing Ireland’s training methodology and vision as set out by our High-Performance Director Antonio Maurogiovanni.

John will continue to work closely with our High-Performance Team in creating a pathway for Junior and U23 athletes to compete internationally for Ireland.

Rowing Ireland’s Chief Executive Officer, Michelle Carpenter, said,” We all wish John the best of luck in his new role and will no doubt be successful as Head Rowing Coach with Queens University. John has been a great colleague and friend over the years. We will miss John on our team. His enthusiasm was infectious and was always available for support and advice.

Rowing Ireland’s High-Performance Director, Antonio Maurogiovanni said, “John has been an essential member of our team over the years, and I want to thank him for his dedication to the role. I have gotten to know John both professionally and personally over the last three years, and he has been instrumental in the development of our Junior and U23 athletes.

John has been working in developing our younger athletes on our high-performance pathway for several years. I have no doubt that John will excel in this position with Queens University in developing future high-performance athletes for Ireland. We look forward to working with John and supporting him in this role.”

Head of Sport Liz McLaughlin commented “The appointment of John as Rowing Head Coach is an exciting step for everyone involved with Rowing at Queen’s but in particular our student clubs.

Our recent partnership with Rowing Ireland focuses on developing performance athletes through this Head Coach role but, as we also anticipate the appointment of a Rowing Development Officer later this month, we are looking forward to broadening our participation numbers and the infrastructure around all levels of Rowing at Queen’s University in the coming years.”

Rowing Ireland would like to thank John for all his hard work, commitment and dedication over the years and we wish him all the best in his new role. We look forward to working with John as part of this new exciting partnership with Queens University.