William Kinnear

William Duthie Kinnear (3 December 1880 – 5 March 1974) was a Scottish rower who competed for Great Britain at the 1912 Summer Olympics and won major single scull events prior to the First World War. A plaque to Kinnear at Kensington Rowing Club on Lower Mall, Hammersmith, London. Early days Better known to his friends as Wally, Kinnear was born in Marykirk, where he became a draper's assistant. He left home in 1902 for a career with the chain store Debenhams in London. Work colleagues introduced him to sculling and he became hooked. He first joined the Cavendish Rowing Club and in 1903 won the West End ARA sculling championship. He repeated this success in 1904 and 1905.

Olympics and beyond Kinnear won the gold medal in single sculls, rowing at the 1912 Summer Olympics in Stockholm. He captured the Olympic title comfortably and later the same year secured his third successive Wingfield Sculls. He lost the Wingfield Sculls in 1913 to Jock Wise.

Later life During World War I Kinnear served with the Royal Naval Air Service and then became a rowing coach. Later he moved to Desford, Leicestershire, where he worked as a security officer. He died of heart failure at Leicester General Hospital on 5 March 1974.

Kinnear was Godfather to writer Eric Newby, as mentioned in Newby's 1962 book "Something Wholesale". He was inducted into the Scottish Sports Hall of Fame on 12 March 2007.