Alex Hill

Alex Hill grew up on a vineyard and citrus farm in the Riverland of South Australia. He started his secondary schooling at Loxton High School and then came to Prince Alfred College on a boarding scholarship in Year 10. Having achieved some success in a number of different sports, including representing the State in basketball and athletics, Alex decided to take up rowing at PAC in Year 11.

Alex quickly achieved success in the sport and won an Honours Award in his final year at school, having been a key member of our 1st VIII, as well as representing South Australia. In his final year at school, as well as excelling in rowing, Alex was also a Boarding Prefect and Vice-Captain of Waterhouse. Alex was popular with both his peers and with staff, and a widely respected member of the College community. One teacher described him as follows: “a quietly confident, caring and kind young man ..… humble but warm in his interactions with others and well-liked by his peers.”

After finishing school at the end of 2010, Alex then joined the South Australia Sports Institute rowing program, where he became a Junior World Champion in the Coxed Four event. He then progressed to the under-23 ranks, where he won a Bronze Medal in the Eight and Silver in the Pair at the under-23 World Championships. He then moved on to the Australian Institute of Sport Rowing Program in 2013 in Canberra, following which he has been a member of the Australian rowing team each year.

Highlights include the following:

• Seven times National Champion
• Three times Interstate Single Sculls Champion, wining the President’s Cup.
• World Championship Silver Medallist in 2015 and gold medallist in 2017 and 2018.
• South Australian Sports Institute Athlete of the Year in 2017 and 2018
• Member of the World Rowing Crew of the Year in 2018 in the Men's Four.
• Olympic Silver Medallist in the Men’s Four in Rio in 2016.

After winning that silver medal in 2016 in Rio, Alex set himself the objective of winning gold in Tokyo. Five year later, Alex achieved his dream in winning the Olympic Gold Medal as stroke of the Men's Four. Alex has achieved extraordinary success throughout his rowing career, and he has shown unwavering dedication in pursuing his goals over the 11 years since he left school. He is the living embodiment of what commitment to a grand objective is all about. Moreover, his drive and dedication are on show for everyone to see in the race that we have just watched. Anyone who understands rowing will tell you that Alex was the driving force within the crew to achieve the ultimate prize.

Alex was the only South Australian to win a Gold Medal at the recent Olympics and that should make us doubly proud to be associated with this outstanding athlete. In pursuing his sporting dreams to achieve the highest possible honour in his sport, whilst retaining the affection and respect of all who know him, he has shown that he is indeed another outstanding example of the Princes Man. As the slogan we associate with the Princes Man says: Work hard; be kind. Alex has certainly worked hard to achieve his goals and he is also acknowledged as a kind and thoughtful person. Moreover, he has demonstrated the humility in victory that we always aspire to, making him a most fitting addition to Our Princes Men Gallery.