Martin Cross

Cross won the gold medal in the coxed four at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics with Steve Redgrave, Richard Budgett, Andy Holmes, and Adrian Ellison.[3]

He won a gold medal representing England in the coxed four, at the 1986 Commonwealth Games in Edinburgh, Scotland.[4][5] he also won silver medals in the coxless fours at the World Junior Championships in 1975 and in the coxless pairs at the World Championships in 1985, and bronze medals in the coxless fours at the World Championships in 1978 and 1979 and the Olympics in 1980, and in the eight at the World Championships in 1991.

He has been described by his close friends as "An inspiration to not just the rowing world, but the whole of the sporting world."[6] Cross now lives with his wife, three children and two dogs in London.

He published an autobiography, Olympic Obsession in 2001,[7] and is currently working part-time as a history and politics teacher at Hampton School. He writes about rowing for The Guardian and co-commentates with Greg Searle for the International Rowing Federation on the World Rowing Cup and World Rowing Championships events.[8]

Cross appears as a cameo in the 2004 romantic hit The Notebook. Although his work is uncredited, his character of "Rower" appears first in the credits list – something which co-star Ryan Gosling has described as "well-deserved." The Canadian once commented, "I could not expect to be credited above an Olympic gold medalist! It was such an honor to appear on the same list as Martin, and I'm pleased to be able to call him my friend." Coincidentally, Cross also taught Gosling how to row in order to ensure that the film's famous lake scene was authentic.