Anton Wright
| Anton Wright | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1974 (age 41–42) |
| Nationality | British |
| Occupation | Adventurer, rowing coach, and television personality |
| Website |
www |
Anton Wright is an adventurer, rowing coach, and (alongside Mark de Rond) holder of the Guinness Word Record for the first unsupported row of the navigable length of the Amazon River.
Career
Head Coach and Boathouse Manager at Clare College, Cambridge
Anton Wright is currently on sabbatical from this role at Clare College, Cambridge, while he appears on Channel 4's year-long reality TV show, Eden.[1]
'Row the Amazon' – the first ever unsupported row of the Amazon River
In September 2013, Anton and Mark de Rond embarked on an attempt to be the first people ever to row unsupported the entire length of the Amazon River, starting in Nautu, Peru on 1 September 2013, and reaching the Brazilian coastal town of Macapa six weeks later.[2][3]
The Row the Amazon website, which featured blog updates of the pair's progress during the expedition, described the event as '2077 miles. Two men. One boat. A long way from the University of Cambridge' .
Reuters referred to it is as an expedition in which the rowers "will brave piranhas, bandits and disease in an attempt to be the first crew to row the length of the Amazon river." and described how "...they will sleep in turns at night to keep watch for runaway logs in the water which could destroy their boat, anacondas, bull sharks, thieves, illegal logging and mining operators trying to keep their locations secret and drug traffickers in Brazil's vast rain-forest."[4]
One of the stated aims of the expedition was to raise money for Leonard Cheshire Disability, a charity supporting disabled people living independently in the UK and around the world.[5]
Guinness World record
An official Guinness World Record certificate,[6] acknowledging the achievement of the expedition, was presented to Mark de Rond and Anton at the British Consulate in São Paulo on 15 October 2013.[7]
'Row the Thames' / the Parkside Challenge
Following the Amazon row, Anton returned to Cambridge and in 2015 the Row the Amazon boat was subsequently repaired by six boys from Parkside Community College in Cambridge, during a 14 social endeavour intended as a life changing adventure experience to foster pride and life skills with local school children.[8][9] The project culminated in the boys taking the boat on a largely unsupported row of a 176-mile stretch of the River Thames.
Eden (Channel 4 reality TV show)
During 2016, Anton has been been appearing in experimental British reality TV show Eden and was described by the Guardian as "Eden's stand-out character"[10] looking for 'a shot at reinvention'.[11] His current status as a participant is unknown, as is the status of the show.[12]
References
- ↑ "Eden - All 4". www.channel4.com. Retrieved 2016-08-15.
- ↑ "Row the Amazon". www.rowtheamazon.com. Retrieved 2016-07-23.
- ↑ "Amazon rowers Mark de Rond and Anton Wright finish their 2,000-mile journey". 2013-10-15. Retrieved 2016-07-23.
- ↑ "Briton, Dutchman seek to be first to row the Amazon". Retrieved 2016-07-23.
- ↑ Rond, Mark de. "Virgin Money Giving | Fundraising | Anton and Mark Row the Amazon". Virgin Money Giving. Retrieved 2016-07-23.
- ↑ "First row of the navigable length of the Amazon River". Retrieved 2016-07-23.
- ↑ "Epic Amazon row ends". 2013-10-16. Retrieved 2016-07-23.
- ↑ "How Parkside Rowing Challenge could end the 'town vs gown' divide". 2015-01-05. Retrieved 2016-08-15.
- ↑ "New-look Thames Row boat unveiled at Grafton Centre". 2015-03-24. Retrieved 2016-08-15.
- ↑ Heritage, Stuart (2016-07-19). "Eden review – the world's newest reality TV show is Love Island, with trench foot". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2016-11-05.
- ↑ Tate, Gabriel (2016-07-12). "Kneedeep in mud and midges: my trip to Eden". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2016-11-16.
- ↑ "Eden: When will the second season start? | Press and Journal". Press and Journal. Retrieved 2016-11-16.