David Jennens

Who was David Jennens?

David Michael Jennens was an English rower who competed for Great Britain in the 1952 Summer Olympics. He was a medical doctor.

Jennens was born in Solihull, United Kingdom. He attended Oundle School and in 1947 went up to Clare College, Cambridge. He stroked the Clare coxless four that won the Cambridge University event twice, and in 1949 won the Visitors' Challenge Cup at Henley Royal Regatta.

In eights racing, Jennens stroked the Clare crew that rowed Head of the River in the 1949 May Bumps. He earned his Blue when he stroked Cambridge to a win by a quarter of a length against Oxford in the 1949 Boat Race. He rowed in the number two seat of the 1950 winning Cambridge crew, and then returned to the stroke seat for the Cambridge victory of 1951. The umpire had ordered a re-row of the 1951 race after Oxford sank in treacherous conditions.

Also in 1951, Jennens was the stroke of the British eight that won the European Rowing Championships in Mâcon, France. In 1952, he stroked the Leander Club eight that won the Grand Challenge Cup at Henley. This crew went on to row as Great Britain in the 1952 Summer Olympics in Helsinki, finishing fourth.