Samuel Loch will turn 40 on Monday, but the big event in the life of the Australian Olympic rower is not something he takes the time to celebrate.
The two-time World Rowing Championships bronze medalist took a controversial stance on birthdays, saying they were for «women and children.»
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Samuel Loch leads his teammates before the men’s eight qualifiers during the London Olympics on July 28, 2012, in Windsor, England. (Harry How/Getty Images)
«My perspective is very much that birthdays are for women and children and just surviving another lap around the sun is not necessarily a cause for celebration,» Loch wrote on Instagram in response to a fan who asked how he was going to celebrate, according to news.au.com.
«However, my wife said a few years ago that birthdays are an opportunity for people who love you to celebrate you. That softened my position a bit.»
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He is married to Frances Abbott, the daughter of former Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott.
Loch added that turning 40 appealed to him more because he liked «round numbers.»
He represented Australia at the 2008 Beijing Games when the country finished sixth in the eight-man crew. He was also with the team in 2012 in London, where the team also finished in sixth place.
Samuel Loch, Drew Ginn, Nicholas Purnell and Joshua Dunkley-Smith pose with their bronze medals after the four-man final at the World Rowing Championships in Bled on September 4, 2011. (Reuters/Srdjan Zivulovic)
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He won a bronze medal at the 2010 and 2011 World Championships with Australia and finished second at the World Indoor Rowing Championships in 2015. He set two indoor rowing world records in 2016 and another for the most meters rowed in one minute in 2017.