“The Boat Race is older than New Zealand as a country” – a Kiwi in Oxford

Tom Mackintosh, the Oxford University Boat Club President for 2025, is a rarity. A President who has never rowed a Boat Race; a man who took Olympic gold in the eight, then moved into the single and won World Championship bronze in the slowest and loneliest of boats.

Why Dark Blue President? “Initially I was reluctant to take on the role because I wanted to apply myself academically this year, but after some discussions with alumni and coaching team, I actually thought it would be a real exciting opportunity to take up. I feel privileged that the boat club took a vote of confidence in me. It is exciting to surround myself with a new sphere of athletes and the academic calibre of the athletes in the programme is pretty high.”

Photo Credit: The Boat Race

Not many people have sat on an Olympic start line in the biggest and smallest boats. Tom was Olympic champion in the New Zealand eight in Tokyo 2020, before taking some time away from rowing. He returned in the single scull, won World Championship bronze in 2023, and finished fifth in Paris 2024. This unique blend of experiences, Tom believes, sets him up well to lead the athletes at Oxford.

“My strength is I really enjoy learning from people around me, and I like to think I’m a better rower because I’ve been surrounded by athletes that are better than me. My main strengths are my ability to absorb information, think critically, and I’ve been part of successful teams so I know that the whole should be better than the sum of the parts.

“The single versus the eight is an interesting comparison! The eight is big, brash and bold, it’s a long and strong boat, a lot of energy and hype, there’s a lot of testosterone in men’s racing, and you’ve got to manage nine different personalities. And depending on what level you’re at, you have to use different strategies to get the best out of people. Recognising we all have different strengths and different weaknesses, and leveraging that to get the best out of people.

“The beauty of the eight is there’s eight of you – you can work off each other. If you’re having a slow day, you can really get motivation from the people around you. The single is a completely different challenge. Your technical application of power is very different. The boat is a lot more delicate and sensitive. Physically, it drains you very differently. The races are one and a half minutes longer which requires different energy systems and approach to the race. In training, you’ve got to be self-motivated and willing to keep doing the training even if it’s going not very well, because you can’t leverage off anyone else.

“The key is recognising that you do have good days and bad days. Your bad days don’t define you as an athlete and you’ve just got to learn from them; and celebrate the good days when they present themselves.”

And finally, looking forward to this year. Oxford have undergone a number of changes in 2024, including amalgamating the men’s, women’s and lightweight programmes, and a new set of coaching faces. What are your first impressions of the club under new organisation and leadership?

“There’s a real sense of excitement and camaraderie. It gives me a lot of pride, taking a leadership role, and hopefully help progress the club incrementally to be a better place than when I came in. I’m a strong believer that a rising tide lifts all boats.”

You can find Tom on Instagram and LinkedIn.