A ROWING coach from Wokingham is among those being honoured by the Queen as part of her birthday honours this year.
Tom Dyson, head of Olympic and Paralympic performance delivery at British Rowing, has been awarded an MBE.
He is being recognised for his services to Paralympic rowing.
“I found out about a month ago when a letter arrived in the post from the cabinet office,” said Mr Dyson.
“I was shocked at first and then an overwhelming feeling of pride,” he added.
Mr Dyson is the lead coach for the Paralympic pathway at British Rowing, where he has played an instrumental role in the recent success of the GB Paralympic Rowing Team.
Under his tutelage, the GB Paralympic rowers have topped the rowing medal table at two consecutive Paralympic Games at Rio 2016 and Tokyo 2020, winning five gold medals in the process.
Mr Dyson joined the GB rowing team in 2007 as a performance coach with the Paralympic rowing squad and he was appointed acting lead coach in September 2008.
He has been the GB Paralympic pathway coach since 2009 and during that time he has coached numerous world championship medallists.
This includes AS (Arms and Shoulders) single sculler Tom Aggar to three consecutive world titles, and the LTA (Legs, Trunk and Arms) mixed coxed four to two titles.
In the 2015 World Rowing Championships in Aiguebelette he coached four Paralympic boats, all finishing in the top two positions in the competition. He lists this as his proudest achievement as GB Rowing Team coach.
Despite finding out about the honour a few weeks ago, Mr Dyson still hasn’t told any of his family at the time of writing.
He said: “I have kept it a bit of a secret from my family until now.
“My mum will be surprised and my dad won’t know what to say.
“I will tell them just before the embargo lifts on the list of honours being given out.”
Although the MBE recognises his individual success, Mr Dyson believes it is recognition of the athletes he has worked with throughout his time with GB rowing.
He said: “Since I started in 2007 I have been lucky enough to work with some fantastic athletes who have achieved great success.
“This honour is a reflection on them and their achievements over the past 15 years as well.”
When asked how he is going to mark the occasion he said: “I am going to celebrate with my family this weekend.
“The announcement is very near to my sister’s birthday so it will be nice to get everyone together.”
