Sad loss for rowing

Press, 6 October 1989, Page 23

Sad loss for rowing

By 1

TIM DUNBAR

Thomas Keller, the man whose considerable influence in rowing had much to do with New

Zealand being awarded the 1978 world championships, has died suddenly, aged 64. The long-serving Swiss president of the International Rowing Federation (F.1.5.A.) died late last week of a suspected heart attack. When the world championships were awarded to New Zealand it was the first time they had been held out of the Northern Hemisphere. Twentyseven nations were persuaded to cross the world, out of season, for the occasion.

Opening the regatta at Lake Karapiro in the three languages of the rowing world, French, German and English, Mr Keller was full of praise. “We have come here with the greatest expectations and we have not been deceived,” he said. Next year the world championships are to come to the Southern Hemisphere for the second time and Mr Keller, the president of F.I.S.A. since. 1958, was to step down after the regatta on Lake Barrington, Tasmania. As an oarsman Mr Keller competed in five world championships and won a European bronze

medal in the single sculls in 1950. According to a former president of the New Zealand Rowing Association, Bernie Walker, “Thomi” Keller was responsible for bringing rowing up to one of the top sports in Europe. At various times his name has also been mentioned as a possible candidate for the presidency of the International Olympic Committee. Mr Walker was rowing section manager of the New Zealand Olympic team at Mexico City in 1968 and was being taken by Mr Keller for his international umpire’s licence. Next to Mr Walker, incidentally, was the former international single sculler, Jack Kelly,

brother of Grace Kelly.

“Thomi Keller addressed us, saying ‘Gentlemen, you are all getting on in years. You must not get removed from the rowing clubs. If you don’t know what the boy sitting in the boat is thinking, you’re no good as an international umpire’,” Mr Walker said. It was Mr Keller who made the presentation to the coxed four of Dick Joyce, Dudley Storey, Ross Collinge, Duncan Cole and Simon Dickie (coxswain) when they became New Zealand’s first Olympic rowing gold medallists. According to Mr Walker, the F.I.S.A. president was an autocrat but also “a real rowers’ man” and someone who insisted things were done properly. At the Mexico Olympics, said Mr Walker, an Egyptian umpire put up the wrong flag, causing a race to be stopped. Mr Keller got rid of the umpire, despite the extreme loss of face it meant. Mr Walker and Lud Brooker, then chairman of the New Zealand rowing council, had no trouble getting seats for the rowing preliminaries at Mexico. But for the

finals only standing room was available. For days the New Zealanders kept after Mr Keller, saying how they had come halfway across the world. "Finally he produced two electricians’ passes in case of electrical breakdown,” Mr Walker said. Apparently the two black blazers looked somewhat conspicuous in the designated area. The F.I.S.A. president visited New Zealand on a number of occasions and his fondness for oysters became well known. Mr Walker, then the owner of various oyster boats, put on that delicacy for his Avon club when the eight won the national title for the first time, at Lake Karapiro in 1976. “After the finals there was a meeting of all officialdom and we were told Mr Keller was not available,” Mr Walker said. “But John Wylie sneaked around the back of the top table and whispered to Thomi, ‘there’s oysters on out at the Avon camp.’ Thomi Keller said, ‘l’ll be a few minutes, Mr Chairman.’ He was actually away for an hour.”

This year Mr Keller was a guest at the OxfordCambridge Boat Race, the oldest race in the world, for the first time.