Gregory Mark Burton ( Eng. Gregory Mark Barton ; December 2, 1959 , Jackson County, Michigan) - American rower-kayaker , played for the US team in the mid-1980s - early 1990s. Participant of three summer Olympic games, two-time Olympic champion, four-time world champion, winner of many regattas of national and international importance.
| Greg Burton | |
|---|---|
| personal information | |
| Floor | |
| A country |  USA |
| Specialization | kayak , 1000 m |
| Date of Birth | December 2, 1959 (59 years old) |
| Place of Birth | Jackson County , MI |
| Growth | 180 cm |
| Weight | 79 kg |
Biography
Greg Barton was born on December 2, 1959 in Jackson County, Michigan . He began to actively engage in rowing in early childhood; he trained along with his elder brother Bruce , who later also became quite a famous rower.
He achieved the first serious success at an adult international level in 1984 when he became a member of the American national team and, thanks to a series of successful performances, won the right to defend the country's honor at the home summer Olympic Games in Los Angeles , participated in the standings of single-seat kayaks at a distance of 1000 meters and won a bronze medal, losing in the final to the New Zealander Alan Thompson and Yugoslav Milan Janic .
In 1985, Barton visited the world championships in the Belgian Mechelen, from where he brought the award of gold dignity, won in singles over ten kilometers. Two years later, at the world championship in the German Duisburg, he became a champion in two disciplines at once, alone at a thousand and ten thousand meters. As one of the leaders of the US rowing team, he successfully qualified for the 1988 Olympic Games in Seoul , where he won in both his disciplines: one kilometer in singles and in twos with team-mate Norman Bellingham .
After two Olympics, Barton remained in the main line-up of the American rowing team and continued to take part in major international regattas. So, in 1990, he started at the World Championships in Polish Poznan, receiving silver alone on ten kilometers. The following season, at similar competitions in Paris, he took bronze on a thousand and gold on ten thousand meters, thus becoming a four-time world champion. Later he went to represent the country at the Olympic Games of 1992 in Barcelona , won the bronze medal in the 1000 meter distance, skipping ahead of Australian Clint Robinson and Norwegian Knut Holmann , while in twos at the same distance together with Bellingham showed the fourth result, a little short before prize positions.
He has a higher education, in 1983 he graduated from the University of Michigan , where he studied at the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering. Having completed his career as a professional athlete, he went into business, opened a company selling sports equipment: kayaks, surfboards, oars, etc. He is married and has two daughters.
Links
- Greg Barton - Olympic statistics on Sports-Reference.com (English)
- Greg Barton - medals at major international competitions
- Lists of champions and prize-winners in rowing and canoeing (1936–2007) (English)