JASON READ
Hometown: Ringoes, N.J.
Current Residence: Ringoes, N.J.
Club Affiliations: USRowing Training Center/New York Athletic Club
Began Rowing: The Hun School, 1992
Date of Birth: 12/24/77
Height: 6’0”
Weight: 185
High School: The Hun School
Undergraduate Education: Temple University
Occupations: Management Consultant/Emergency Services Chief
Current Coaches: Mike Teti, Ted Nash, Bryan Volpenhein
International Results: Finished seventh in the pair at the 2008 FISA World Cup stop in Munich...Finished eighth in the pair at the 2007 FISA World Championships...Won a gold medal in the eight at the 2004 Olympic Games...Set a world record in the eight during the heats at the 2004 Olympic Games...Won a gold medal in the four at the 2004 FISA World Cup stop in Lucerne...Won a silver medal in the eight at the 2003 FISA World Championships... Finished second in the pair at the 2003 Henley Royal Regatta...Finished fifth in the pair at the 2003 FISA World Cup stop in Milan...Finished first in the eight and second in the pair at the 2002 Mercedes-Benz World Rowing Sprints...Finished 12th in the four at the 2002 FISA World Championships...Finished fourth in the eight at the 2001 FISA World Championships...Finished fifth in the pair at the 2001 FISA World Cup stop in Seville...Won gold in the eight at the 2001 FISA World Cup stop in Princeton...Won gold in the eight at the 1999 Nation’s Cup (Under 23 World Championships)...Won silver in the eight at the 1998 Nation’s Cup...Finished 10th in the four at the 1997 Nation’s Cup...Finished seventh in the four with coxswain at the 1995 FISA World Junior Championships.
National Results: Won the pair at the 2008 National Selection Regatta #2...Won the pair at the 2007 U.S. National Team Trials...Won silver in the eight at the 2007 USRowing National Championships...Won the four with coxswain at the 2004 Head of the Charles...Won the pair at the 2001-2004 USRowing National Selection Regattas...Won the eight at the 2002 Head of the Charles...Finished second in the eight and third in the four at the 2002 USRowing National Championships...Won the eight at the 2001 USRowing National Championships...Won the four with coxswain at the 2000 Head of the Charles...Finished fifth in the eight at the 2000 Intercollegiate Rowing Association Championships...Finished third in eight and the four with coxswain at the 1998 USRowing National Championships...Won the men’s eight at the 1997-2000 Dad Vail Regattas.
Personal: Jason is a six-time senior national team member...Jason was one of six returning 2004 Olympic champions on the 2007 World Championships squad...Since returning from Athens, he has worked to promote volunteerism, rowing and the Olympic movement throughout the United States...He got involved in rowing as the mascot for the Hun School’s rowing team in the sixth grade...He began coxing in eighth grade, the same year Jason began a volunteer career in emergency services...Jason is the only person from USRowing to be named “Man of the Year” twice...He was recognized in 2001 following rescue operations at Ground Zero and again in 2004 after he and his teammates earned the Olympic gold medal in Athens...He was a finalist for the 2001 Sullivan Award, recognizing the top amateur athlete in the United States...He also received the Arête Lifetime Achievement Award in Sport for his response to Ground Zero following the World Trade Center attacks on 9/11...Jason was on the New Jersey command staff as a communications officer in Jersey City on 9/11...He holds the position of Chief Operations at the Amwell Valley Rescue Squad and has done so since 1999, the longest in the department’s 50-year history...In 2005, Jason was selected as one of 28 firemen in the U.S. to march in the 2005 Presidential Inauguration parade in Washington, D.C...Later that year, he received the Governor’s Volunteer Award in Public Safety, the highest award given to a volunteer in New Jersey...He is the first American fire/rescue chief to win an Olympic gold medal...In 2005, he was inducted into the Hall of Fame at the New York Athletic Club and The Hun School...As Chief of the Amwell Valley – Ringoes Rescue Squad, he coordinates all aspects of a new solar-powered, $1.4-million rescue squad station...He has helped raise $400,000 for this facility...Jason is recognized as an expert in the public safety industry and speaks regularly at national conventions and forums regarding public policy, preparedness and homeland security issues...Jason enjoys working with the USO in support of our troops, both domestically and abroad...He is a staunch promoter of railroads and mass-transportation...Jason enjoys reading, swimming, volunteering, skiing and fellowship. His favorite movies are Dr. Strangelove, Batman and Miracle.
(updated 6/27/2008)