Sam made history in 2013 as part of the team that won Great Britain’s first ever World Championship medal in the quadruple scull. He represented his country in the double scull at the London 2012 Olympic Games and in the quadruple scull in Rio in 2016, placing fifth on both occasions.
A football and cricket enthusiast during his secondary school years in Reading, Sam began rowing at the age of 16. He took his first strokes in Reading as part of the GB Rowing Team Start Programme, making his international debut at the Under 23 World Championships in 2004.
As a student, he continued to row with Reading University Boat Club and joined the GB Rowing Team’s senior squad, participating primarily in the men’s quadruple sculls. During Sam’s time with the team they set many milestones in the class, including a historic first ever British World Championship medal when they took bronze in Chunju, South Korea in 2013. The team included fellow Reading alumnus Charles Cousins. The following year in Amsterdam, they brought home a silver medal.
Sam represented Great Britain in two Olympic finals. At the London 2012 Games, he competed in the double scull, this time with Bill Lucas, another Reading alumnus. He returned to the Games in 2016 in Rio de Janeiro, this time rowing in the quadruple scull. Both teams placed fifth overall.
He retired from professional rowing in 2016 to take up the post of Master in Charge of Radley College Boat Club in Oxfordshire.
“The University of Reading and its Boat Club were instrumental in providing me with the freedom and support I needed to balance my ambitions both as an aspiring Olympian and a student wishing to gain a top-class degree.”
