David Anderson (rower)

David Rollo Anderson (born 8 April 1932) is an Australian rower who competed in the 1952 Summer Olympics, the 1954 Commonwealth Games and in the 1956 Summer Olympics.

He attended Sydney Boys High School, graduating in 1948. Both Nimrod Greenwood and Edward Pain, who were in the Australian eight at the 1952 Summer Olympics with Anderson, also attended Sydney High.

Anderson did his senior rowing at the Leichhardt Rowing Club in Sydney. The Guerin-Foster Rowing History site quotes the Leichhart Centennial History of 1986 wherein Anderson is referred to as the most prominent interstate and international Leichhardt rower up until 1986. In eight consecutive seasons from 1950 to 1957 he was selected in the New South Wales state VIII which contested the Kings Cup at the Australian Rowing Championships. The New South Wales crew were national champions in 1950 and 1951 and were selected in toto as the Olympic representative VIII for 1952 in spite of finishing 2nd to Victoria in the Interstate Championships that year.

In 1952 he was a crew member of the Australian boat which won the bronze medal in the eights event at the Helsinki Olympics. Four years later he was part of the Australian boat which was eliminated in the semi-final of the coxless fours competition. In 1954, he was part of the pair that won the gold medal Coxed Four, and the bronze in the Uncoxed Pairs for Australia in the 1954 Canadian Commonwealth Games.

Anderson is the father of Wendy Laidlaw, who competed in the Australian women's basketball team at the 1984 Olympic Games held in Los Angeles.